Don't think I'll play long since I'm busy today and this weekend, but really looking forward to it.
Any last words for me? Ambiguous or cryptic advice? Vague or strange warnings?
Very familiar with BG but never stepped foot in IWD.
Better to post in the no spoiler forum then.
Seeing as how you're here I'll just say to not stress about mages in IWD like you do in BG. No need for an inquisitor or any specific anti mage strategies really.
If you are pretty competent at BG then you'll likely find IWD reasonably easy unless you use some self imposed restrictions.
1. Try those classes and kits you always have wanted to try but for one reason or another skipped in BG. You can create six party members in IWD, this is your chance!
2. Bard songs of the vanilla bard and offensive druid spells - they are so good in IWD.
3. There're not many magic scrolls available, so think about you choices of divine spellcasters.
1. Try those classes and kits you always have wanted to try but for one reason or another skipped in BG. You can create six party members in IWD, this is your chance!
2. Bard songs of the vanilla bard and offensive druid spells - they are so good in IWD.
3. There're not many magic scrolls available, so think about you choices of divine spellcasters.
Party finally assembled. Instead of going for an optimized party, I went with a group that I could realistically see getting along and fun to roleplay, even accepting the best roll out of 10 (no 90s in this group...). They're a band of optimists and idealists, mostly good-aligned, hoping to vanquish evil and seek out adventure (they're new at this). I have a feeling that they're in for a rude awakening. Without further adieu, we have:
Lonergan the Undead Hunter (human) Cromcrum the Barbarian (half-orc) Calliope the Archer (female half-elf) Gaelin the Assassin (elf) Marcus the Priest of Tempus (human) Davian the Magnificent (gnome Thief / Illusionist)
well, hope the following advice don't contain much spoilers ...
1. Treat this as a brand new game with brand new rules (try not to think in BG or D&D)
2. Read everything.
3. Apply different strategies at different time, meaning don't lean too heavily on 1 single combat approach if you wanna live long and prosper
4. Don't be afraid to reload a hell lot on your first run.
5. Try the pre-generated party, it provides insights for your future re-runs. I regretted not having a rock star in my first run ... it helps to reduce your chance of getting winter depression ^_^
@bengoshi, could you drop me a tip about that melee thingy?
I have been avoiding as much melee in my first run as possible because of them tanks tend to end up in triage a tad too often if i exposed them heavily.
Too late... They were off today battling orcs in caves to help with the caravan. I already notice a difference with fighting strategy as opposed to BG. Where encounters were more spread out and sporadic, they seem far more dense in terms of numbers here. In BG, I could get away with more bullrushing tactics, but here, I employed a far more coordinated approach, using my assassin to scout the areas ahead, often hiding by the enemies, while my barbarian and paladin switched to ranged weaponry. We, along with the archer, would strike at a distance first, and when the enemy started closing the gap, I would send in my cleric while switching the paladin and barbarian to melee, leaving space for the Archer to continue to unload. Meanwhile, my mage would cast spells to throw the enemy off balance while my assassin would sneak up from the back while the others were engaged and give a nasty backstab to one before blowing his cover and joining the melee with his daggers. I managed to clear the cave with no rests and only 2 health potions using these tactics. Not bad by my estimation. Cromcrum with his throwing axes have been fun to watch while my paladin uses a crossbow as his secondary.
Just one more tidbit to add, the level/xp cap works a little differently in IWD than it did in BG.
Rather than having a set XP cap (like 8,000,000 in bg2), there is now just a plain level cap in place, everyone can reach level 30 in IWD. As there is no experience limit, you can now potentially hit level 30 in each and every class of a dual or multi class build, making multi-classes exponentially more powerful than they were in BG.
Though chances are you would never fully level up such a character in a single playthrough unless you were playing a solo or low man group and/or you were playing on a higher difficulty/heart of fury mode for the bonus experience points.
Oh! And prepare your self for random loot too! Don't be shocked if you have to reload an earlier saved game and that cool sword that dropped off a mini boss, or the fancy ring you found in a chest don't turn up the second time around
EDIT: I also second the bard notion! I'm running one in my party at the moment for the first time, and I don't know how I ever lived without one!
Too late... They were off today battling orcs in caves to help with the caravan. I already notice a difference with fighting strategy as opposed to BG. Where encounters were more spread out and sporadic, they seem far more dense in terms of numbers here. In BG, I could get away with more bullrushing tactics, but here, I employed a far more coordinated approach, using my assassin to scout the areas ahead, often hiding by the enemies, while my barbarian and paladin switched to ranged weaponry. We, along with the archer, would strike at a distance first, and when the enemy started closing the gap, I would send in my cleric while switching the paladin and barbarian to melee, leaving space for the Archer to continue to unload. Meanwhile, my mage would cast spells to throw the enemy off balance while my assassin would sneak up from the back while the others were engaged and give a nasty backstab to one before blowing his cover and joining the melee with his daggers. I managed to clear the cave with no rests and only 2 health potions using these tactics. Not bad by my estimation. Cromcrum with his throwing axes have been fun to watch while my paladin uses a crossbow as his secondary.
That's Great !! Have fun
Meanwhile I am still trying to figure out how on earth i could solo this game without any Reloads ... so darn tempted to mod it ... but then again it will take away the challenge. Argghhh I hate the walking speed !!
Beware the AI, it effectively attaches electronic tags to your party - giving your enemies superpower abilities to see through walls and the fog of war. Whilst this (quite rightly in my opinion) eliminates kiting it also follows the law of unintended consequences. I recently found myself trapped between two levels when, having made a 'hasted' retreat from a battle on one level, I went back up to a level I'd previously cleared only to find spawned hordes waiting for my battered party at the level entrance - and when I tried to escape back down I found ALL the denizens of the lower level waiting for me there as well.
Beware the AI, it effectively attaches electronic tags to your party - giving your enemies superpower abilities to see through walls and the fog of war. Whilst this (quite rightly in my opinion) eliminates kiting it also follows the law of unintended consequences. I recently found myself trapped between two levels when, having made a 'hasted' retreat from a battle on one level, I went back up to a level I'd previously cleared only to find spawned hordes waiting for my battered party at the level entrance - and when I tried to escape back down I found ALL the denizens of the lower level waiting for me there as well.
Ewwwww. That sounds horrible!
I have to say, I'm really enjoying the atmosphere, especially the musical score. I feel like they really hit a home run there. There's something so much more unsettling than anything I ever encountered in BG. It feels....like the evil in the air is palpable. It's thick with both emptiness and terror, however contradictory that might sound. Talking to my wife about it last night, I described it as D&D's version of The Shining. It's cold, it's isolated, and something is very wrong. My party grows more weary, however slight, with each passing day, wondering what they got themselves into. Of all people, Cromcrum the half-orc barbarian is the most calming and warming presence (he's very strong but also very loyal and gentle with his friends, possessing a quiet confidence). To be honest, I'm not sure they'll make it. They're still confident, but if and when something tragic happens to one of them, I can see their fraternity dissolve and their paranoia mount.
On a side note, the tracking ability has been a blast to use.
Beware the AI, it effectively attaches electronic tags to your party - giving your enemies superpower abilities to see through walls and the fog of war. Whilst this (quite rightly in my opinion) eliminates kiting it also follows the law of unintended consequences. I recently found myself trapped between two levels when, having made a 'hasted' retreat from a battle on one level, I went back up to a level I'd previously cleared only to find spawned hordes waiting for my battered party at the level entrance - and when I tried to escape back down I found ALL the denizens of the lower level waiting for me there as well.
Too late... They were off today battling orcs in caves to help with the caravan. I already notice a difference with fighting strategy as opposed to BG. Where encounters were more spread out and sporadic, they seem far more dense in terms of numbers here. In BG, I could get away with more bullrushing tactics, but here, I employed a far more coordinated approach, using my assassin to scout the areas ahead, often hiding by the enemies, while my barbarian and paladin switched to ranged weaponry. We, along with the archer, would strike at a distance first, and when the enemy started closing the gap, I would send in my cleric while switching the paladin and barbarian to melee, leaving space for the Archer to continue to unload. Meanwhile, my mage would cast spells to throw the enemy off balance while my assassin would sneak up from the back while the others were engaged and give a nasty backstab to one before blowing his cover and joining the melee with his daggers. I managed to clear the cave with no rests and only 2 health potions using these tactics. Not bad by my estimation. Cromcrum with his throwing axes have been fun to watch while my paladin uses a crossbow as his secondary.
That's Great !! Have fun
Meanwhile I am still trying to figure out how on earth i could solo this game without any Reloads ... so darn tempted to mod it ... but then again it will take away the challenge. Argghhh I hate the walking speed !!
Thanks!
I'm not crazy about the walking speed either and am already missing the cheetah boots, but I've also rationalized it for my roleplay. I just consider the environment. Realistically, the snow and ice prove a challenge to running, and when the snow is deep, you can totally forget about it. Obviously indoors that's not an issue, but I guess the important point is just that something like the cheetah boots are simply impractical in IWD.
@Fiendish_Warrior, make full use of those auto-pause, it helps to save a few lives
They've made a few rookie mistakes, the most notable of which is the two times Gaelin (the assassin) lost his hide in shadows at the worst possible moments. One of which was when he walked into a room filled with goblins and the other was when he was walking back to the party and one goblin managed to see him at the last second, prompting an unexpected skirmish. I'm imagining him sneaking around and then tripping on a stone, alerting them to his presence. Not a very good assassin at the moment, but once I bump those hide in shadow levels up sufficiently, he should be well acclimated to the environment and should have the mishaps reduced to a minimum. It works very well right now, but it's not always pretty.
@Fiendish_Warrior, the move silently also affect so hiding in shadows alone is not safe enough, the AI seemed rather smart as my solo F/M/T hides in shadow but the mobs that had chased after me earlier are moving around hearing my footsteps but not completely sure where I am.
@Fiendish_Warrior, the move silently also affect so hiding in shadows alone is not safe enough, the AI seemed rather smart as my solo F/M/T hides in shadow but the mobs that had chased after me earlier are moving around hearing my footsteps but not completely sure where I am.
HiS and MS do exactly the same thing: contribute to a stealth score which improves up to about 300. For close to perfect use I think about 260 is enough (so 130 in HiS and MS though you can favour one over the other and it has no mechanical impact).
That sounds exactly right @Wowo. There were extended discussions on the two skills in the BGEE subforum. I'll have to get familiar with the discussions had here. Above, I was treating them synonymously to save from sounding redundant and to keep from typing some extra words. I'm a lazy typist...
Beware the AI, it effectively attaches electronic tags to your party - giving your enemies superpower abilities to see through walls and the fog of war. Whilst this (quite rightly in my opinion) eliminates kiting it also follows the law of unintended consequences. I recently found myself trapped between two levels when, having made a 'hasted' retreat from a battle on one level, I went back up to a level I'd previously cleared only to find spawned hordes waiting for my battered party at the level entrance - and when I tried to escape back down I found ALL the denizens of the lower level waiting for me there as well.
You may have experienced an enemy calling for help. Enemies in IWD can 'shout for assistance' it causes all enemies within a certain radius to rush to your position, whether they are in the same room and can physically see you, or not.
Pay attention to the dialogue box, or for text appearing over an enemies head during battle (This is often a shout for help), here is an example of an Orc shouting for help.
This example is the Easthaven Cave in the prologue, and is an easy area to test the 'shout' mechanic. As soon that specific orc shouts, every orc in the next room will rush you.
Also people dont seem to realise this, but you can also set up your own party members to shout for help by using the 'Control' A.I script from the scripts menu. It enables party members to shout for help if their HP drops below 75%, 50% or 25% (You can toggle the value with the 'G' key) and your other party members will rush to their assistance.
Beware the AI, it effectively attaches electronic tags to your party - giving your enemies superpower abilities to see through walls and the fog of war. Whilst this (quite rightly in my opinion) eliminates kiting it also follows the law of unintended consequences. I recently found myself trapped between two levels when, having made a 'hasted' retreat from a battle on one level, I went back up to a level I'd previously cleared only to find spawned hordes waiting for my battered party at the level entrance - and when I tried to escape back down I found ALL the denizens of the lower level waiting for me there as well.
You may have experienced an enemy calling for help. Enemies in IWD can 'shout for assistance' it causes all enemies within a certain radius to rush to your position, whether they are in the same room and can physically see you, or not.
Pay attention to the dialogue box, or for text appearing over an enemies head during battle (This is often a shout for help), here is an example of an Orc shouting for help.
This example is the Easthaven Cave in the prologue, and is an easy area to test the 'shout' mechanic. As soon that specific orc shouts, every orc in the next room will rush you.
Also people dont seem to realise this, but you can also set up your own party members to shout for help by using the 'Control' A.I script from the scripts menu. It enables party members to shout for help if their HP drops below 75%, 50% or 25% (You can toggle the value with the 'G' key) and your other party members will rush to their assistance.
If only these control functions could be used in iOS.
Comments
Seeing as how you're here I'll just say to not stress about mages in IWD like you do in BG. No need for an inquisitor or any specific anti mage strategies really.
If you are pretty competent at BG then you'll likely find IWD reasonably easy unless you use some self imposed restrictions.
2. Bard songs of the vanilla bard and offensive druid spells - they are so good in IWD.
3. There're not many magic scrolls available, so think about you choices of divine spellcasters.
4. Melee rocks in IWD.
5. Don't trust anyone (or anything);)
Lonergan the Undead Hunter (human)
Cromcrum the Barbarian (half-orc)
Calliope the Archer (female half-elf)
Gaelin the Assassin (elf)
Marcus the Priest of Tempus (human)
Davian the Magnificent (gnome Thief / Illusionist)
1. Treat this as a brand new game with brand new rules (try not to think in BG or D&D)
2. Read everything.
3. Apply different strategies at different time, meaning don't lean too heavily on 1 single combat approach if you wanna live long and prosper
4. Don't be afraid to reload a hell lot on your first run.
5. Try the pre-generated party, it provides insights for your future re-runs. I regretted not having a rock star in my first run ... it helps to reduce your chance of getting winter depression ^_^
I have been avoiding as much melee in my first run as possible because of them tanks tend to end up in triage a tad too often if i exposed them heavily.
Too late... They were off today battling orcs in caves to help with the caravan. I already notice a difference with fighting strategy as opposed to BG. Where encounters were more spread out and sporadic, they seem far more dense in terms of numbers here. In BG, I could get away with more bullrushing tactics, but here, I employed a far more coordinated approach, using my assassin to scout the areas ahead, often hiding by the enemies, while my barbarian and paladin switched to ranged weaponry. We, along with the archer, would strike at a distance first, and when the enemy started closing the gap, I would send in my cleric while switching the paladin and barbarian to melee, leaving space for the Archer to continue to unload. Meanwhile, my mage would cast spells to throw the enemy off balance while my assassin would sneak up from the back while the others were engaged and give a nasty backstab to one before blowing his cover and joining the melee with his daggers. I managed to clear the cave with no rests and only 2 health potions using these tactics. Not bad by my estimation. Cromcrum with his throwing axes have been fun to watch while my paladin uses a crossbow as his secondary.
Rather than having a set XP cap (like 8,000,000 in bg2), there is now just a plain level cap in place, everyone can reach level 30 in IWD. As there is no experience limit, you can now potentially hit level 30 in each and every class of a dual or multi class build, making multi-classes exponentially more powerful than they were in BG.
Though chances are you would never fully level up such a character in a single playthrough unless you were playing a solo or low man group and/or you were playing on a higher difficulty/heart of fury mode for the bonus experience points.
Oh! And prepare your self for random loot too! Don't be shocked if you have to reload an earlier saved game and that cool sword that dropped off a mini boss, or the fancy ring you found in a chest don't turn up the second time around
EDIT: I also second the bard notion! I'm running one in my party at the moment for the first time, and I don't know how I ever lived without one!
That's Great !! Have fun
Meanwhile I am still trying to figure out how on earth i could solo this game without any Reloads ... so darn tempted to mod it ... but then again it will take away the challenge. Argghhh I hate the walking speed !!
I recently found myself trapped between two levels when, having made a 'hasted' retreat from a battle on one level, I went back up to a level I'd previously cleared only to find spawned hordes waiting for my battered party at the level entrance - and when I tried to escape back down I found ALL the denizens of the lower level waiting for me there as well.
I have to say, I'm really enjoying the atmosphere, especially the musical score. I feel like they really hit a home run there. There's something so much more unsettling than anything I ever encountered in BG. It feels....like the evil in the air is palpable. It's thick with both emptiness and terror, however contradictory that might sound. Talking to my wife about it last night, I described it as D&D's version of The Shining. It's cold, it's isolated, and something is very wrong. My party grows more weary, however slight, with each passing day, wondering what they got themselves into. Of all people, Cromcrum the half-orc barbarian is the most calming and warming presence (he's very strong but also very loyal and gentle with his friends, possessing a quiet confidence). To be honest, I'm not sure they'll make it. They're still confident, but if and when something tragic happens to one of them, I can see their fraternity dissolve and their paranoia mount.
On a side note, the tracking ability has been a blast to use.
I'm not crazy about the walking speed either and am already missing the cheetah boots, but I've also rationalized it for my roleplay. I just consider the environment. Realistically, the snow and ice prove a challenge to running, and when the snow is deep, you can totally forget about it. Obviously indoors that's not an issue, but I guess the important point is just that something like the cheetah boots are simply impractical in IWD.
Still struggling to survive in the vale ...
You may have experienced an enemy calling for help. Enemies in IWD can 'shout for assistance' it causes all enemies within a certain radius to rush to your position, whether they are in the same room and can physically see you, or not.
Pay attention to the dialogue box, or for text appearing over an enemies head during battle (This is often a shout for help), here is an example of an Orc shouting for help.
This example is the Easthaven Cave in the prologue, and is an easy area to test the 'shout' mechanic. As soon that specific orc shouts, every orc in the next room will rush you.
Also people dont seem to realise this, but you can also set up your own party members to shout for help by using the 'Control' A.I script from the scripts menu. It enables party members to shout for help if their HP drops below 75%, 50% or 25% (You can toggle the value with the 'G' key) and your other party members will rush to their assistance.
Ingame > Character Record > Customize > Scripts?
I couldn't imagine playing a full party without scripts anymore.