@BelgarathMTH - Well, if we're going to talk about the history of the "Minimal Reload" it first started when @CharlestonianTemplar was asking about it on the original bioware forums. Then, he made his BG1 Minimal Reload thread, and I made BG2 thread after people were completing BG1. I used to make leaderboards for it, but that got tiring after awhile.
Anyway, more unpopular opinions.
- I think Icewind Dale is better than BG1 or BG2, and it isn't just because of the divine spells, and bard songs. - I think Jaheira's romance is one of the most terrible in BG2, and I feel weird and dirty after doing it.... - I like Aerie's romance, and find Aerie's complaints and such to be valid. - Like some of the people in this thread, I think Sarevok is a much better villain than Irenicus. All Irenicus has going for him is that he's fantastically voice acted. - I don't think that Wizard Slayer is a horrible kit. - I think Bioware should have just let Imoen die in Spellhold as per the original plan. Someone add this as an option into Unfinished Business, or make a Post-Spellhold Imoen-be-gone mod, and replace her with Alora.
Unpopular opinion number.... uh, what number were we up to? This thread needs to become another one of those silly numbered list threads to realize its full potential, in agreement with @Alesia_BH .
So, uh, where was I? Well, I'll just arbitrarily guess that this one is about number 30, unless some kind forumite will come along behind me and actually organize this mess into a nice, neat ordered list of all the "unpopular opinions" expressed thus far - heck, I actually spent an entire four-hour afternoon of my life once creating a glossary of game acronyms over at the old Bioware forums, so maybe somebody else will do that for this thread as far as the numbers....
Ahem, I'm rambling.
Unpopular opinion number .... da DAH, da DAH, .... ummm..... 30:
30) I think dark elves are overrated and ridiculous as a story concept. I've never used Viconia in any of my games. I have no interest in using Viconia in any of my games. I couldn't care less about Drizzt, the novels about him, or his fracking scimitars. I help him defeat the gnolls in my BG1 games because I always play good alignment, and that's the end of it. Dark elves, Schmark elves. I honestly don't get the appeal. I think they're a misandrystic race that only exists in the Forgotten Realms for some kind of misguided fan service. Bleagh.
"Male, get me something to eat!" Puh-leeze. What would be the reaction if some fictional male character actually said in a game, "Female, get me something to eat!" Honestly, some people!
31) Polearms and quarterstaves are totally badass. (Granted the engine doesn't allow you to see the full range of reaching attacks, parries, and counters your character would be doing in real life, but still.)
-Strength is not that important and should not be a priority during character generation even for fighters, (unless you plan to dual-class).
-Invokers, conjurors and necromancers are a waste of wizards. Never waste time specializing in what you can achieve with a suffusion of wands or in what a cleric can do better. Enchantment and illusion are what real wizards do.
-Dragons are not that interesting and most of their loot in the game is disappointing. The best thing is their scales and the best dragon armor in the game, you just find the scales on the floor. They should make a suit of armor that says ''I killed Saladrex and all I got was a lousy staff and a rogue stone''.
-Invokers, conjurors and necromancers are a waste of wizards. Never waste time specializing in what you can achieve with a suffusion of wands or in what a cleric can do better. Enchantment and illusion are what real wizards do.
BG1s music is amazing and is superior to BG2 and on the same level as IWD.
Characters like Cernd, Nalia, and Valygar are some of the MORE interesting NPCs!
Yoshimo's SoA "incident" is stupid and serves only to rob the player of one of the more interesting NPCs with one of the more needed classes.
Jaheira and Khalid are a horrible couple who were destined to break up anyway. She's the only druid who gets Harper's Call, a raise dead spell and she chooses not to raise Khalid. Then she makes the moves on a male charname all of 30 seconds later. Convenient death is convenient.
-RPG don't need romances, but Aire romance is the best one. -D&D level progression should stop at level 10. Above that: special feats, divine favours or just strategy. -The mad cleric Tiax should have been a joinable npc in BG2. His quests would be around the conflict between Cyric and Bhaal. After ToB he ascends as a semi-god and kicks your arse. -Jaheira should have been killed, not Khalid. Or both. I also feel a bit dirty about her romance. -I don't like Dorn. I find him deeply disturbing (that's the point, I guess). It doesn't help I had sex with him while playing as a male gnome. Visualizing that almost gave me nightmares.
Well, don't know if they are really that unpopular.
- -Invokers, conjurors and necromancers are a waste of wizards. Never waste time specializing in what you can achieve with a suffusion of wands or in what a cleric can do better. Enchantment and illusion are what real wizards do.
I haven't done Kelsey myself, but Tashia herself desperately needs voice-acted lines. All she's got is a soundset, but none of her actual dialogue is voiced. Maybe Isra spoiled me, but I now kind of expect a few voiced lines to really consider a mod NPC grade A material.
Minsc is bad, everything about him is bad, his stats are bad, his class is bad, his proficiences are bad, his entire character and the Boo shtick is bad, Boo himself is bad(takes up a quickslot), he is so bad that even his girlfriend is bad.
Jan is also bad.
Multiclassing beats dualclassing every time.
Ranger/Cleric is overrated, and if you restore the druid spells via the .ini that's basically cheating.
Imoen is essentially the best NPC in the game.
Irenicus is not the greatest villain in the history of videogames. He's probably not even in Top 10.
Romances in videogames are a waste of time and resources. The only videogame that did romance well was King's Bounty: The Legend.
Baldur's Gate games are not a proper cRPG, they're dungeon crawlers that do a good job pretending.
Baldur's Gate is better than Baldur's Gate II.
Pillars of Eternity was a joke(like all the other spiritual sequels, reboots, and re-imaginings)
Minsc is bad, everything about him is bad, his stats are bad, his class is bad, his proficiences are bad, his entire character and the Boo shtick is bad, Boo himself is bad(takes up a quickslot), he is so bad that even his girlfriend is bad.
Jan is also bad.
Multiclassing beats dualclassing every time.
Ranger/Cleric is overrated, and if you restore the druid spells via the .ini that's basically cheating.
Imoen is essentially the best NPC in the game.
Irenicus is not the greatest villain in the history of videogames. He's probably not even in Top 10.
Romances in videogames are a waste of time and resources. The only videogame that did romance well was King's Bounty: The Legend.
Baldur's Gate games are not a proper cRPG, they're dungeon crawlers that do a good job pretending.
Baldur's Gate is better than Baldur's Gate II.
Pillars of Eternity was a joke(like all the other spiritual sequels, reboots, and re-imaginings)
Multi classing beats dualclassing every time.
Jan - Multi-class Imoen - Dual-class
Jan -> Imoen.
This is in your own words, and i have to say i do agree, Jan is better than Imoen.
Nope! But I would not rate it as particularly good from an RPG standpoint either.
This might be a little bit of topic, but could you explain? Planescape: Torment is one of the true RPGs out there. Your choices make a difference, tons of different dialogues depending on your attributes, party members and even choices earlier on in the game. There are many consequences, especially when you take into consideration the different factions. Your alignment changes depending on your actions, if you keep flirting with zombies in the mortuary you'll gain points towards chaotic. The game is brilliant and one of the true RPGs out there, it even puts Fallout to shame.
It is possible to complete the entire game without killing a single person.
I agree with everything you said. It's a great game from a narrative standpoint. It is one of my very top gaming experiences. But it's greatness in plot and setting does not have an equivalent great rpg potential and I never felt as if different roles mattered very much. I will admit to using the wrong phrasing in my quote above as I wanted to echo my first post and it came off as if I think PS:T is bad from an RPG standpoint, when I really feel it's just not great from an RPG point of view.
And it may be possible to complete the entire game without killing a single plot-related person, but I highly doubt anyone could complete the game without killing a single thing given that the game is absolutely stuffed to the brim with filler combat.
It still better in the RPG aspect relatively to the BG games though
- Wizards eye is a useful spell - the robe of vecna and staff of the magi should be moved to ToB - jaheiras romance is the most original romance in a video game (never have i seen a widow is a love interest for the PC)
I haven't done Kelsey myself, but Tashia herself desperately needs voice-acted lines. All she's got is a soundset, but none of her actual dialogue is voiced. Maybe Isra spoiled me, but I now kind of expect a few voiced lines to really consider a mod NPC grade A material.
Isra is awesome, that's not an unpopular opinion!
Tashia is a product of a different time, and her soundset isn't the only element of the mod whose design is a little rough by modern standards. I've always liked her character and her storyline, though; some of the themes in it remind me of Elizabeth Haydon's Symphony of Ages trilogy.
- Having an injured warrior drink a healing potion during combat is generally a bad idea. Circumstances can vary (that's the fun of the game!). But even though healing spells are slow to cast, its usually better to have a cleric cast healing magic on a warrior than have him waste an action drinking a potion. The warrior likely has a much better damage per action than the cleric does, and its not a good use of his/her time to waste an action drinking a potion. Obviously this can vary if the warrior needs immediate healing, or if the cleric has something clearly more important to do. But in melee I most often prefer to keep my damage dealers dealing damage, while my support characters provide support.
@atcDave: Er... I do kind of agree, but I'm almost certain that's not how actions per round works. You can definitely drink potions and attack on the same round. Now, when it comes to using other potions, like a potion of magic blocking, then that's a different matter.
its usually better to have a cleric cast healing magic on a warrior than have him waste an action drinking a potion. The warrior likely has a much better damage per action than the cleric does, and its not a good use of his/her time to waste an action drinking a potion. Obviously this can vary if the warrior needs immediate healing, or if the cleric has something clearly more important to do. But in melee I most often prefer to keep my damage dealers dealing damage, while my support characters provide support.
That is an unpopular opinion!
For the record, potions will never stop your fighters from dealing damage... nor will they ever cause any delay in dealing damage. I see a valid opinion here--sometimes healing potions aren't the best option--but there's also a misconception, if you're under the impression that potions will interfere with your attacks.
Potions are drunk instantaneously, assuming a clear aura. Clear aura means they haven't taken a spell-equivalent action in the past 6 seconds. A spell-equivalent action means drinking a potion, casting a spell, or using an item's special ability. If potions appear to be taking time away from attacking, that's because the warrior has already taken an action within the past <6 seconds. Any alternative to a potion (a spell-equivalent action) has the exact same delay. In PnP, you have a tradeoff between drinking a potion and making an attack. That does not hold for the IE games. You attack for 6 seconds, drink a potion, and then attack for the next 6 seconds without interruption. Potions cost no time unless you're trying to drink them too early.
Now, if you're using (Greater) Whirlwind Attack, (Improved) Haste, an Oil of Speed, or a haste item, such as Arbane's Sword, the Amulet of Cheetah Speed, the Improved Cloak of Protection +2, or the Ring of Gaxx, then choosing a healing potion might cost you some attack rolls, since the alternative adds attacks per round. But any other item, or any other spell, will take as much time, or more, than drinking a potion.
Assuming a clear aura, using an item takes 1-2 seconds. Casting a spell takes 0-6 seconds. Using a scroll takes 1-2 seconds, plus another 0-6 seconds depending on the spell. Drinking a potion, however, always takes 0 seconds, as it activates instantly. The only time delay is if you're trying to use a spell-equivalent action before your aura is clear, and that applies to both potions, and any alternative to potions.
In a word, drinking a potion is instantaneous unless you're mis-timing it. Any alternative to a potion will cost just as much time, or more time--never less. There is no tradeoff between drinking a potion and making an attack roll. Your warriors can drink potions without worrying about their attack power.
Comments
I've finished it a couple times, but really I sort of Peter out at that point. But I gather that is common!
Plus, Viconia actually shows a hinge of jealousy if you're romancing her.
Anyway, more unpopular opinions.
- I think Icewind Dale is better than BG1 or BG2, and it isn't just because of the divine spells, and bard songs.
- I think Jaheira's romance is one of the most terrible in BG2, and I feel weird and dirty after doing it....
- I like Aerie's romance, and find Aerie's complaints and such to be valid.
- Like some of the people in this thread, I think Sarevok is a much better villain than Irenicus. All Irenicus has going for him is that he's fantastically voice acted.
- I don't think that Wizard Slayer is a horrible kit.
- I think Bioware should have just let Imoen die in Spellhold as per the original plan. Someone add this as an option into Unfinished Business, or make a Post-Spellhold Imoen-be-gone mod, and replace her with Alora.
So, uh, where was I? Well, I'll just arbitrarily guess that this one is about number 30, unless some kind forumite will come along behind me and actually organize this mess into a nice, neat ordered list of all the "unpopular opinions" expressed thus far - heck, I actually spent an entire four-hour afternoon of my life once creating a glossary of game acronyms over at the old Bioware forums, so maybe somebody else will do that for this thread as far as the numbers....
Ahem, I'm rambling.
Unpopular opinion number .... da DAH, da DAH, .... ummm..... 30:
30) I think dark elves are overrated and ridiculous as a story concept. I've never used Viconia in any of my games. I have no interest in using Viconia in any of my games. I couldn't care less about Drizzt, the novels about him, or his fracking scimitars. I help him defeat the gnolls in my BG1 games because I always play good alignment, and that's the end of it. Dark elves, Schmark elves. I honestly don't get the appeal. I think they're a misandrystic race that only exists in the Forgotten Realms for some kind of misguided fan service. Bleagh.
"Male, get me something to eat!" Puh-leeze. What would be the reaction if some fictional male character actually said in a game, "Female, get me something to eat!" Honestly, some people!
32) I like Tashia better than Kelsey.
34. There needs to be more fanservice in BG2.
-Invokers, conjurors and necromancers are a waste of wizards. Never waste time specializing in what you can achieve with a suffusion of wands or in what a cleric can do better. Enchantment and illusion are what real wizards do.
-Dragons are not that interesting and most of their loot in the game is disappointing. The best thing is their scales and the best dragon armor in the game, you just find the scales on the floor. They should make a suit of armor that says ''I killed Saladrex and all I got was a lousy staff and a rogue stone''.
Characters like Cernd, Nalia, and Valygar are some of the MORE interesting NPCs!
Yoshimo's SoA "incident" is stupid and serves only to rob the player of one of the more interesting NPCs with one of the more needed classes.
Jaheira and Khalid are a horrible couple who were destined to break up anyway. She's the only druid who gets Harper's Call, a raise dead spell and she chooses not to raise Khalid. Then she makes the moves on a male charname all of 30 seconds later. Convenient death is convenient.
-D&D level progression should stop at level 10. Above that: special feats, divine favours or just strategy.
-The mad cleric Tiax should have been a joinable npc in BG2. His quests would be around the conflict between Cyric and Bhaal. After ToB he ascends as a semi-god and kicks your arse.
-Jaheira should have been killed, not Khalid. Or both. I also feel a bit dirty about her romance.
-I don't like Dorn. I find him deeply disturbing (that's the point, I guess). It doesn't help I had sex with him while playing as a male gnome. Visualizing that almost gave me nightmares.
Well, don't know if they are really that unpopular.
Since mod NPCs have been added to this discussion...
- I don't like Kelsey, infact, I'd rather have Adrian in my party. All day, everyday.
- I think Tsujatha is actually kind of okay.
- I don't think the Imoen Romance mod is incest.
- I kind of wish Khalid were still alive in BG2, and I tried to play with the Khalid mod, but...it wasn't exactly translated into English very well.
I haven't done Kelsey myself, but Tashia herself desperately needs voice-acted lines. All she's got is a soundset, but none of her actual dialogue is voiced. Maybe Isra spoiled me, but I now kind of expect a few voiced lines to really consider a mod NPC grade A material.
Jan is also bad.
Multiclassing beats dualclassing every time.
Ranger/Cleric is overrated, and if you restore the druid spells via the .ini that's basically cheating.
Imoen is essentially the best NPC in the game.
Irenicus is not the greatest villain in the history of videogames. He's probably not even in Top 10.
Romances in videogames are a waste of time and resources. The only videogame that did romance well was King's Bounty: The Legend.
Baldur's Gate games are not a proper cRPG, they're dungeon crawlers that do a good job pretending.
Baldur's Gate is better than Baldur's Gate II.
Pillars of Eternity was a joke(like all the other spiritual sequels, reboots, and re-imaginings)
Jan - Multi-class
Imoen - Dual-class
Jan -> Imoen.
This is in your own words, and i have to say i do agree, Jan is better than Imoen.
And it may be possible to complete the entire game without killing a single plot-related person, but I highly doubt anyone could complete the game without killing a single thing given that the game is absolutely stuffed to the brim with filler combat.
It still better in the RPG aspect relatively to the BG games though
- the robe of vecna and staff of the magi should be moved to ToB
- jaheiras romance is the most original romance in a video game (never have i seen a widow is a love interest for the PC)
Tashia is a product of a different time, and her soundset isn't the only element of the mod whose design is a little rough by modern standards. I've always liked her character and her storyline, though; some of the themes in it remind me of Elizabeth Haydon's Symphony of Ages trilogy.
Kennair Nethalin is a good name too.
The Black Pits are an interesting thing. (I've given them a go this weekend and completely liked them).
The writing in the Black Pits is wondeful.
- Having an injured warrior drink a healing potion during combat is generally a bad idea.
Circumstances can vary (that's the fun of the game!). But even though healing spells are slow to cast, its usually better to have a cleric cast healing magic on a warrior than have him waste an action drinking a potion. The warrior likely has a much better damage per action than the cleric does, and its not a good use of his/her time to waste an action drinking a potion. Obviously this can vary if the warrior needs immediate healing, or if the cleric has something clearly more important to do.
But in melee I most often prefer to keep my damage dealers dealing damage, while my support characters provide support.
For the record, potions will never stop your fighters from dealing damage... nor will they ever cause any delay in dealing damage. I see a valid opinion here--sometimes healing potions aren't the best option--but there's also a misconception, if you're under the impression that potions will interfere with your attacks.
Potions are drunk instantaneously, assuming a clear aura. Clear aura means they haven't taken a spell-equivalent action in the past 6 seconds. A spell-equivalent action means drinking a potion, casting a spell, or using an item's special ability. If potions appear to be taking time away from attacking, that's because the warrior has already taken an action within the past <6 seconds. Any alternative to a potion (a spell-equivalent action) has the exact same delay. In PnP, you have a tradeoff between drinking a potion and making an attack. That does not hold for the IE games. You attack for 6 seconds, drink a potion, and then attack for the next 6 seconds without interruption. Potions cost no time unless you're trying to drink them too early.
Now, if you're using (Greater) Whirlwind Attack, (Improved) Haste, an Oil of Speed, or a haste item, such as Arbane's Sword, the Amulet of Cheetah Speed, the Improved Cloak of Protection +2, or the Ring of Gaxx, then choosing a healing potion might cost you some attack rolls, since the alternative adds attacks per round. But any other item, or any other spell, will take as much time, or more, than drinking a potion.
Assuming a clear aura, using an item takes 1-2 seconds. Casting a spell takes 0-6 seconds. Using a scroll takes 1-2 seconds, plus another 0-6 seconds depending on the spell. Drinking a potion, however, always takes 0 seconds, as it activates instantly. The only time delay is if you're trying to use a spell-equivalent action before your aura is clear, and that applies to both potions, and any alternative to potions.
In a word, drinking a potion is instantaneous unless you're mis-timing it. Any alternative to a potion will cost just as much time, or more time--never less. There is no tradeoff between drinking a potion and making an attack roll. Your warriors can drink potions without worrying about their attack power.