For me the problem is that I like to spend a lot of time optimizing my choices of equipment items on each of my party members, and then don't care at all for stripping those items from one companion and putting them on another. So I always, in any RPG I play and not just the original BG games, very strongly favor using the companions I can recruit early in the game over the ones I get to recruit later in the game. I get very attached to my existing party and companions and how I have them all set up, and don't like messing any of that up by swapping in a later companion, which is also why I hate it when games don't give me all of my companions early on in the game because I never get to use the ones I get later in the game.
That's exactly why I've never played with Alora, Tiax, Quayle, Skie, Eldoth, Yeslick or Faldorn. I seldom even recruit Xan because I usually wait for a while before taking on the Mines.
I've taken a real shine to Bards of all stripes since I first started playing. I've decided to always have at least a temporary companion bard in every playthrough from now on. Even if I don't want to use them as permanent party members, they can serve as identifiers, pickpocketers and item caddies.
I've taken a real shine to Bards of all stripes since I first started playing. I've decided to always have at least a temporary companion bard in every playthrough from now on. Even if I don't want to use them as permanent party members, they can serve as identifiers, pickpocketers and item caddies.
How is that unpopular?
There's a pretty big stigma on bards. Though it doesn't seem as bad as it was a few years ago.
For me the problem is that I like to spend a lot of time optimizing my choices of equipment items on each of my party members, and then don't care at all for stripping those items from one companion and putting them on another. So I always, in any RPG I play and not just the original BG games, very strongly favor using the companions I can recruit early in the game over the ones I get to recruit later in the game. I get very attached to my existing party and companions and how I have them all set up, and don't like messing any of that up by swapping in a later companion, which is also why I hate it when games don't give me all of my companions early on in the game because I never get to use the ones I get later in the game.
That's exactly why I've never played with Alora, Tiax, Quayle, Skie, Eldoth, Yeslick or Faldorn. I seldom even recruit Xan because I usually wait for a while before taking on the Mines.
That is where the mod for relocating NPCs comes in. It completely refreshes the game.
For me the problem is that I like to spend a lot of time optimizing my choices of equipment items on each of my party members, and then don't care at all for stripping those items from one companion and putting them on another. So I always, in any RPG I play and not just the original BG games, very strongly favor using the companions I can recruit early in the game over the ones I get to recruit later in the game. I get very attached to my existing party and companions and how I have them all set up, and don't like messing any of that up by swapping in a later companion, which is also why I hate it when games don't give me all of my companions early on in the game because I never get to use the ones I get later in the game.
There is a tweak that moves all of the possible companions to areas you can reach in chapter 1 or 2. Viconia is just south of Beregost, Alora is in Gullykin village, etc. in the Tweaks Anthology.
Viconia was always accessible early (the map itself is accessible, the bandit connection isn't), though, so her being moved is just a matter of convenience.
Repositioning Tiax, though is a major game changer. Being able to summon a ghast before taking on the mines is a boon particularly if you have mods that enhance the enemies down there.
Also Alora is objectively the best Thief in game 1. She's a halfling w/ Dex 19, her Lucky Foot in the EE gives her a boost to her Thief skills, BG1 NPC Project gives her that Boomerang Dagger... she's a gem.
Would have loved to see her come back. Not having ANY halflings join you just feels wrong.
Also Alora is objectively the best Thief in game 1. She's a halfling w/ Dex 19, her Lucky Foot in the EE gives her a boost to her Thief skills, BG1 NPC Project gives her that Boomerang Dagger... she's a gem.
Would have loved to see her come back. Not having ANY halflings join you just feels wrong.
Particularly as the missing treasures quest gives you three items made SPECIFICALLY for halflings!!! Somebody in the development beam made a major boob!!
If you didn't play the first Baldur's Gate at least once in the original engine, you did not really play the game.
Baldur's Gate (the original) loses quite a bit of it's original design, charm and challenge if you bring it in BG 2 engine. This affects the enhanced editions, but also the old trilogy mod and Tutu.
This includes arts like sprites and paperdolls, but also gameplay - all the kits and extra spells make the game significantly easier, as does the faster walkspeed.
I personally *dislike* mods without detailed documentation.*
If a mod adds an npc with a new kit, I want to know what the kit does. When it introduces new items, I want to see at least a few examples. If there are new quests, I want to know what they are about. I want my game to feel consistent - I don't want to find out in the middle of my playthrough that a kit is overpowered or feels like it is from a different game.
I don't want to have Buffy attack me as a surprise, or find random +5 weapons with give 2 extra attacks, and I don't want to have a new enemy show up and randomly kill gods. Point here is the surprise factor.
Moreover, I want to know what the mod does so I know better whether to integrate it in my current playthrough. Many quests mods cater to specific alignments, so you need to able to tell that from the documentation. Extensive documentation helps to recognise and fix (via console or editor) bugs that might pop up.
Examples of excellent documentation includes SCS, Ascension, Unfinished Business and Tweak Anthology - in fact, I think most Baldur's Gate mods have good documentation, just not all. The WeiDU component design seems to contribute to that.
*: Those mods can still be good and the modders own me nothing at all. Some modders feel they don't want to spoil their mod. I just say I probably won't install them for myself.
If you didn't play the first Baldur's Gate at least once in the original engine, you did not really play the game.
Baldur's Gate (the original) loses quite a bit of it's original design, charm and challenge if you bring it in BG 2 engine. This affects the enhanced editions, but also the old trilogy mod and Tutu.
This includes arts like sprites and paperdolls, but also gameplay - all the kits and extra spells make the game significantly easier, as does the faster walkspeed.
I agree mostly.
In some respcts the original game was easier as it was quite easy using the fog of war to just take on one enemy at a time:thus you could take on an enemy party without them being able to land a single blow; the gnolls who have Perdue's sword are an example of this.
I agree mostly.
In some respcts the original game was easier as it was quite easy using the fog of war to just take on one enemy at a time:thus you could take on an enemy party without them being able to land a single blow; the gnolls who have Perdue's sword are an example of this.
You can still do this in the EE version. I don't know whether it is different if you are playing on harder difficulty levels but I play on the core setting and you generally only have to fight what you can see.
Agree, but not always. It seems more random if enemies wait around to be picked off like ducks in a barrel or start to bum rush you. At least seems that way to me!
8 tomes/manuals where more than enough reasons to play the BG1 vanilla.
I could live with the dated graphics, slower walking speed and even the “no pausing while inventory managing” - the only thing that really irked me was the lack of a proper journal, with open quests showing. Keeping your own notes on the site is no fun!!
Big urban areas like Athkatla are the most fun and most interesting part of fantasy RPGs, wilderness (-exploration) is boring.
Vancian magic is great for tabletop but not very suited to the videogame format, many people just abuse rest mechanics anyway... (in ways a DM would not allow).
Yeah Vancian Magic and "once per rest" is how you get people spamming the rest button/shelling out for rooms every night.
Also a reason to play BG1? Golden Pantaloons. Play the whole series, get the best armour in the game. It really feels like an epic accomplishment.
Plus if you play as a Half-Orc you can start the series with 19 Strength and finish with between 21 and 24 Strength before items, going right up to 25 Strength with the Harmonium Halberd or a holy symbol. Or if you're a Half-Orc Cleric/Thief you can get up to 25 Wisdom (start with 18 in game 1, use all 3 Tomes of Understanding, get "Good" outcome from Test of Wrath in Hell, enter the Wisdom command into the Machine of Lum the Mad, equip the Silver Ioun Stone and use Use Any Item to equip Hrothgar's Axe). Booya!
Fighter/mage/thief is too much work for a single character. The different mind sets and equipments, the slow progression, one character handling several roles... Just play a bard.
Remember when you had to gain levels in fighter, magic user, and thief to qualify as a bard? When only humans had class(es)? ?
Fighter/mage/thief is too much work for a single character. The different mind sets and equipments, the slow progression, one character handling several roles... Just play a bard.
Remember when you had to gain levels in fighter, magic user, and thief to qualify as a bard? When only humans had class(es)? ?
Bard's not as good to solo though. Those myriad skills come in handy when you're all alone in the world! ?
A bard can't replace a thief at all; at best, it allows your main thief to put points in something besides pickpocket. A blade is a decent replacement for a Fighter/Mage, who shines earlier but also peaks lower (especially solo).
The "best armor in the game" is more trouble than it's worth, since it makes you too large to go through doors.
For me it's more about the bragging rights/sense of accomplishment, though it's also useful for Cernd since he can't use any other armour. Plus you can take it on/off to pass through if you know where enemies will spawn.
Fighter/mage/thief is too much work for a single character. The different mind sets and equipments, the slow progression, one character handling several roles... Just play a bard.
Remember when you had to gain levels in fighter, magic user, and thief to qualify as a bard? When only humans had class(es)? ?
Bard's not as good to solo though. Those myriad skills come in handy when you're all alone in the world! ?
Yeah, but there you have the beneft of not sharing the XP with 5 other people. Plus you still need a Cleric or Druid to heal. Personally I would almost prefer a small 3-man party of Fighter/Mage/Cleric, Thief and Bard.
A bard can't replace a thief at all; at best, it allows your main thief to put points in something besides pickpocket. A blade is a decent replacement for a Fighter/Mage, who shines earlier but also peaks lower (especially solo).
I've never heard anyone suggest this. Personally Bards are what I class as a party "Extra", the special sixth member brought in to plug a gap in the party setup through combat prowess, support casting or unique Bard Items.
I've never been able to make sense of this trio. I've tried on tabletop and crpg's, but in my mind they're all to different to play in a single character. The f/m, f/t, mage/thief, are great combos. But try to put all the together... nope. I recently tried again and had a nice character up. 18/93str;17 int and dex. Other stats were average(10-12). A better con would have been nice but the point is I couldn't decide how to play her. How to "focus" those varied abilities into an individual who obviously has mental issues. I actually envy those who can make sense of it as it does "sound" like a fun combination to play.
I've never been able to make sense of this trio. I've tried on tabletop and crpg's, but in my mind they're all to different to play in a single character. The f/m, f/t, mage/thief, are great combos. But try to put all the together... nope. I recently tried again and had a nice character up. 18/93str;17 int and dex. Other stats were average(10-12). A better con would have been nice but the point is I couldn't decide how to play her. How to "focus" those varied abilities into an individual who obviously has mental issues. I actually envy those who can make sense of it as it does "sound" like a fun combination to play.
Don't overthink it. Play it like a fighter/mage who can pick locks and disarm traps. At the very least this frees you from having to pick an NPC thief. Imho, Hexxat or Jan are good choices for party thief, but Imoen or especially Nalia are rather limited.
Once you get used to playing this way, you can experiment with your f/m/t as a scout, trapper and/or backstabber. Then they'll really shine!
Or play it as a fighter/thief with some utility spells, or as a mage/thief that's a bit tougher in a fight.
Also, build your party, and then look at what roles the rest of them aren't filling to see where to focus your protagonist. As a character with such diverse abilities, you're ideally positioned to cover a weak point.
And if you want to change that focus, you don't have to build a new character. The last time I played a fighter/thief protagonist, I switched between tank, skirmisher, and ranged attacker on the fly - whatever the party needed for that battle, she could do it. You might have to rest to change your spell memorization as a FMT, but you can switch between an even larger list of roles with those tools.
IMO the biggest thing BG1 has over either of its successors is that its tutorial prologue section is entirely optional. All you really have to do is go into Winthrop's inn, buy some weapons and armour, talk to Gorion and then leave. Everything else is completely optional. It's not very instructive for new players so I can see why they opted to take the opposite approach in future but honestly, I feel like it takes away from the game's replay value if you got this annoying-@$$ section right at the start where you are basically dragged by hand through a series of forced conversations, battles and tutorials reintroducing you to things you already know. Especially, if it involves characters you don't like. *cough* BG2...
This is why games like XCOM Enemy Unknown/Within give you the option to switch the tutorial sections OFF. If you want it or have been away from the game long enough that a quick refresher is in order, you can have it, but they won't force it on you. It's also how you get not one, but two mods designed to let you skip the opening level just becaus it's so long, tedious and BORING.
The "best armor in the game" is more trouble than it's worth, since it makes you too large to go through doors.
While true, it's not that hard to have the NPC carry a back up set of armor to get through doors. Having the BMU in the last several battles was a nice perk - especially with Crom Faeyr. I gave the set to Mazzy, along with the unimaginably powerful hammer, and *that* was a sight to behold.
In the final fight, she was still getting knocked around, but she was going toe to toe while my two other tanks were having to drop back and repair the damage.
Comments
That's exactly why I've never played with Alora, Tiax, Quayle, Skie, Eldoth, Yeslick or Faldorn. I seldom even recruit Xan because I usually wait for a while before taking on the Mines.
How is that unpopular?
There's a pretty big stigma on bards. Though it doesn't seem as bad as it was a few years ago.
That is where the mod for relocating NPCs comes in. It completely refreshes the game.
There is a tweak that moves all of the possible companions to areas you can reach in chapter 1 or 2. Viconia is just south of Beregost, Alora is in Gullykin village, etc. in the Tweaks Anthology.
Would have loved to see her come back. Not having ANY halflings join you just feels wrong.
Particularly as the missing treasures quest gives you three items made SPECIFICALLY for halflings!!! Somebody in the development beam made a major boob!!
Baldur's Gate (the original) loses quite a bit of it's original design, charm and challenge if you bring it in BG 2 engine. This affects the enhanced editions, but also the old trilogy mod and Tutu.
This includes arts like sprites and paperdolls, but also gameplay - all the kits and extra spells make the game significantly easier, as does the faster walkspeed.
I personally *dislike* mods without detailed documentation.*
If a mod adds an npc with a new kit, I want to know what the kit does. When it introduces new items, I want to see at least a few examples. If there are new quests, I want to know what they are about. I want my game to feel consistent - I don't want to find out in the middle of my playthrough that a kit is overpowered or feels like it is from a different game.
I don't want to have Buffy attack me as a surprise, or find random +5 weapons with give 2 extra attacks, and I don't want to have a new enemy show up and randomly kill gods. Point here is the surprise factor.
Moreover, I want to know what the mod does so I know better whether to integrate it in my current playthrough. Many quests mods cater to specific alignments, so you need to able to tell that from the documentation. Extensive documentation helps to recognise and fix (via console or editor) bugs that might pop up.
Examples of excellent documentation includes SCS, Ascension, Unfinished Business and Tweak Anthology - in fact, I think most Baldur's Gate mods have good documentation, just not all. The WeiDU component design seems to contribute to that.
*: Those mods can still be good and the modders own me nothing at all. Some modders feel they don't want to spoil their mod. I just say I probably won't install them for myself.
In some respcts the original game was easier as it was quite easy using the fog of war to just take on one enemy at a time:thus you could take on an enemy party without them being able to land a single blow; the gnolls who have Perdue's sword are an example of this.
You can still do this in the EE version. I don't know whether it is different if you are playing on harder difficulty levels but I play on the core setting and you generally only have to fight what you can see.
I could live with the dated graphics, slower walking speed and even the “no pausing while inventory managing” - the only thing that really irked me was the lack of a proper journal, with open quests showing. Keeping your own notes on the site is no fun!!
Vancian magic is great for tabletop but not very suited to the videogame format, many people just abuse rest mechanics anyway... (in ways a DM would not allow).
Also a reason to play BG1? Golden Pantaloons. Play the whole series, get the best armour in the game. It really feels like an epic accomplishment.
Plus if you play as a Half-Orc you can start the series with 19 Strength and finish with between 21 and 24 Strength before items, going right up to 25 Strength with the Harmonium Halberd or a holy symbol. Or if you're a Half-Orc Cleric/Thief you can get up to 25 Wisdom (start with 18 in game 1, use all 3 Tomes of Understanding, get "Good" outcome from Test of Wrath in Hell, enter the Wisdom command into the Machine of Lum the Mad, equip the Silver Ioun Stone and use Use Any Item to equip Hrothgar's Axe). Booya!
Remember when you had to gain levels in fighter, magic user, and thief to qualify as a bard? When only humans had class(es)? ?
Bard's not as good to solo though. Those myriad skills come in handy when you're all alone in the world! ?
For me it's more about the bragging rights/sense of accomplishment, though it's also useful for Cernd since he can't use any other armour. Plus you can take it on/off to pass through if you know where enemies will spawn.
Yeah, but there you have the beneft of not sharing the XP with 5 other people. Plus you still need a Cleric or Druid to heal. Personally I would almost prefer a small 3-man party of Fighter/Mage/Cleric, Thief and Bard.
I've never heard anyone suggest this. Personally Bards are what I class as a party "Extra", the special sixth member brought in to plug a gap in the party setup through combat prowess, support casting or unique Bard Items.
Don't overthink it. Play it like a fighter/mage who can pick locks and disarm traps. At the very least this frees you from having to pick an NPC thief. Imho, Hexxat or Jan are good choices for party thief, but Imoen or especially Nalia are rather limited.
Once you get used to playing this way, you can experiment with your f/m/t as a scout, trapper and/or backstabber. Then they'll really shine!
Also, build your party, and then look at what roles the rest of them aren't filling to see where to focus your protagonist. As a character with such diverse abilities, you're ideally positioned to cover a weak point.
And if you want to change that focus, you don't have to build a new character. The last time I played a fighter/thief protagonist, I switched between tank, skirmisher, and ranged attacker on the fly - whatever the party needed for that battle, she could do it. You might have to rest to change your spell memorization as a FMT, but you can switch between an even larger list of roles with those tools.
I guess it turns out it was an unpopular opinion?
This is why games like XCOM Enemy Unknown/Within give you the option to switch the tutorial sections OFF. If you want it or have been away from the game long enough that a quick refresher is in order, you can have it, but they won't force it on you. It's also how you get not one, but two mods designed to let you skip the opening level just becaus it's so long, tedious and BORING.
While true, it's not that hard to have the NPC carry a back up set of armor to get through doors. Having the BMU in the last several battles was a nice perk - especially with Crom Faeyr. I gave the set to Mazzy, along with the unimaginably powerful hammer, and *that* was a sight to behold.
In the final fight, she was still getting knocked around, but she was going toe to toe while my two other tanks were having to drop back and repair the damage.