If you have a fighter, you shouldn't be afraid to reach for particular weapons just because you're not proficient, especially if it's something powerful like Darts of Stunning. If I hadn't realized this, I wouldn't have made my recent discovery that poisoned throwing daggers (seem to?) defeat the Protection From Magical Weapons/Protection From Normal Missiles combo that mages love so much.
^- dunno how unpopular that is @Abi_Dalzim , but I too frequently use the "wrong" weapons with fighters. Loosing a few thac0 for a tactical advantage, like the one above, is well worth it.
- Don't remember if this has been posted before? - There's way, way too many great magical items in the game which can make fighter-types self-sufficient with buffs too the point of making divine and even arcane buffs unneccessary. Having ie Korgan, Mazzy, and another dwarf fighter type is overkill, making any other NPC unneccessary. (vanilla)
Baldur's Gate 1 is mostly awesome because it was my first truly epic computer game (and thus I still prefer it to BG2)
Every character I start in BG2 needs to have run BG1 (and now, SOD)
EEkeepering is not cheating if done with regard to game balance
Dual class restriction on the leaving class makes no sense, if I was brought up as a fighter, but would always be a crappy one because of my low strength I should not be restricted in that when I finally find my true calling.
Having no modifiers for middling scores is bad game design
18/XX scores are a very clunky system to ensure locked in play
If rolled by the regular rules, chances of a 15 on a roll are 4.63%, a 16 2.78% a 17 1.39% and an 18 0.46%, making rules about dual classing, paladins the 18/xx numbers largely senseless.
It also means not even 20% of rolls would have any modifier (the highest and lowest four added to one another makes for 18.52% of the rolls)
Class/multiclass restrictions in 2nd make no sense
Every D&D edition after 2nd was better, even 4th
Bards, druids and rangers are the archetypical elf classes (resembling high, wild and wood elves respectively)
Weapons and armour need a serious overhaul in the whole of D&D to resemble reality
Resembling reality does not make for good gameplay
(That said, within the current (5th) balance, there is still a lot of room for improvement)
Ars Magica has a better combat system than D&D.
In Icewind Dale, it is not the challenge to run it as fast and hard as possible, the challenge is to make as good a story with the created party as possible.
The Neverwinter Nights story was quite enjoyable.
The Beamdog NPC's are top quality (though I have not yet played with Rasaad)
You know, it confuses me A LOT that Elves can't be Bards. Like it explains in the race description that they speak in melodic tones and enjoy arts, dancing, music, and other such things. Like I know in the Complete Bard's Handbook that Elves can be the Minstrel kit but why not the base Bard? I mean I know this is AD&D where arbitrary race/class restrictions are everywhere but that one really stands out as odd.
Also I definitely agree on EEkeepering not being cheating sometimes. Especially if it's to create class/race combinations that are allowed in actual AD&D rules (like gnome jesters are a thing).
You know, it confuses me A LOT that Elves can't be Bards. Like it explains in the race description that they speak in melodic tones and enjoy arts, dancing, music, and other such things. Like I know in the Complete Bard's Handbook that Elves can be the Minstrel kit but why not the base Bard? I mean I know this is AD&D where arbitrary race/class restrictions are everywhere but that one really stands out as odd.
Also I definitely agree on EEkeepering not being cheating sometimes. Especially if it's to create class/race combinations that are allowed in actual AD&D rules (like gnome jesters are a thing).
Gnome jesters seem like a very natural thing as well. As I said, I care very little for the second edition rules, so whenever they don't feel right to me, I'm off to EEkeeper
1) Chaotic Neutral is the most misunderstood alignment. Almost nobody playing chaotic neutral *should* be playing chaotic neutral.
2) Non-power builds are the most inefficient, but the most fun to play. I've had a blast playing a spear-centered kensai, a dual-wielding dagger halfing barbarian, a quarterstaff kensai->cleric, a werewolf druid. And the new Shaman class is really, really fun.
3) I can't stand playing mages or sorcerers.
4) I always have full parties, and I don't understand why people don't, unless it's just for the challenge.
5) Neutral evil to me is the only alignment that doesn't seem like stupid evil.
6) Baldur's gate is best played on a laptop on your chest, lying down in bed.
4) I always have full parties, and I don't understand why people don't, unless it's just for the challenge.
It's actually easier to use four or fewer, in a lot of ways. Leveling up faster can make a big difference, especially in the first game when there isn't much quest experience.
5) Neutral evil to me is the only alignment that doesn't seem like stupid evil.
Eh, that's unfair. If you look at just these games, you'll see Chaotic Evil Sarevok very much isn't stupid evil, nor is Lawful Evil Belhifet in Icewind Dale. Really, they're both quite similar in how conniving they are despite being on the opposite sides of the law-chaos spectrum.
1) Chaotic Neutral is the most misunderstood alignment. Almost nobody playing chaotic neutral *should* be playing chaotic neutral.
Can't argue with that.
Well, I can. The most misunderstood alignment is Chaotic Evil. But really most alignments are misunderstood to some extent because for some reason you have people unable to grasp that they encompass a pretty broad spectrum of different behaviors.
Ah well this is a thread about unpopular opinions, not about arguing about others' unpopular opinions so here's one for the road: Saerileth isn't the creepiest BG romance. This honor used to go to Viconia until she had to relinquish the title to Hexxat. And even then I'd put Tsujatha before the paladin.
* Kurona twirls her fake mustache before closing down the orphanage she loaned money to *
Well, I can. The most misunderstood alignment is Chaotic Evil. But really most alignments are misunderstood to some extent because for some reason you have people unable to grasp that they encompass a pretty broad spectrum of different behaviors.
Ah well this is a thread about unpopular opinions, not about arguing about others' unpopular opinions so here's one for the road: Saerileth isn't the creepiest BG romance. This honor used to go to Viconia until she had to relinquish the title to Hexxat. And even then I'd put Tsujatha before the paladin.
* Kurona twirls her fake mustache before closing down the orphanage she loaned money to *
The difference is that Chaotic Neutral is abused a lot more by people who don't understand it as opposed to Evil alignments. You know, the people who use it as a cover for things that are better classified as evil.
As for the romance stuff, I'm guessing you feel that way because of age gaps, and, well, undead, respectively?
i always saw cn as the do whatever i want alignment.
That's only true if you do not want to do evil things. In that case it's CE.
I think alignements are more about general motivations rather than actual actions. We see the actions of characters but we don't always know their minds. For instance, Sarevok wants to plunge the sword coast in total chaos, so he is CE even if his actions don't always seem chaotic. Haer'dalis loves chaos but he's not the type who wants to hurt innocent people, therefore he is CN.
Chaotic neutral is quite fun in fiction stories, but in real life hanging out with unreliable people is a pain in the neck.
Just because you are unrealiable yourself doesn't mean you have to only hang out with others of the same alignment. I often combine CN with a lower WIS score so that my character often takes decisions on a whim and seldom plan anything beforehand. He or she just does whatever he/she feels like, in that moment and in that context. But yeah, this is really not the thread for starting up another alignment discussion. Sorry for that.
Chaotic neutral is quite fun in fiction stories, but in real life hanging out with unreliable people is a pain in the neck.
Just because you are unrealiable yourself doesn't mean you have to only hang out with others of the same alignment. I often combine CN with a lower WIS score so that my character often takes decisions on a whim and seldom plan anything beforehand. He or she just does whatever he/she feels like, in that moment and in that context. But yeah, this is really not the thread for starting up another alignment discussion. Sorry for that.
Well, this sounds familiar. My CN Gnome Bard character usually has a wisdom of 8. She acts on impulse, whimsy, and fun. It gets her in trouble sometimes but she's never malicious.
As for the romance stuff, I'm guessing you feel that way because of age gaps, and, well, undead, respectively?
Heh, I listed my problems with the Viconia romance in another thread but basically it's extremely unequal in terms of life experience. Additional problem is that Viconia comes from an horribly misandrist society and is not completely out of the mindset herself. And finally the justification of going with it "you can change her" is very condescending. There are more common ground between Charname and Saerileth than Charname and Viconia, as improbable as it sounds.
Hexxat simply adds necrophilia to the age difference.
Of course it's entirely subjective and considering that my favorite love story is Saya no Uta, it's better to take what I'm saying with a grain of salt.
You don't need optimization, kits, or deep understanding of the AD&D rules to beat the games just fine on any difficulty. Tactics and use of terrain (choke points, etc.) are all an adventurer needs.
I've never really understood why Irenicus dungeon is so tedious to people, so much that a specific mod was created to bypass it altogether. I can think of other games that have far longer introductions, that could be a lot more frustrating when replaying the game.
You have Imoen to haste you, traps are minimal and the enemies are hardly tougher than gibberlings.
I've never really understood why Irenicus dungeon is so tedious to people, so much that a specific mod was created to bypass it altogether. I can think of other games that have far longer introductions, that could be a lot more frustrating when replaying the game.
You have Imoen to haste you, traps are minimal and the enemies are hardly tougher than gibberlings.
Same reason a lot of people prefer the first game, I guess: the dungeon is too linear, and so you're forced into the same old stuff again and again. And for all of the lengths that the first game went to to not include goblins and orcs since those were too cliche, facing down goblins for the first time long past the point where they'd be a threat just makes things even duller. Dungeon Be Gone gives you all the important stuff from the prologue and gets you into Waukeen's Promenade, where, just like in the first game, you suddenly have a ton of freedom in where to go next. Hell, I'd say you have a lot more freedom then than at any point in BG1, both for sheer number of options, but also because you're starting at a higher level and have more tactical options right out of the box.
Certainly the mod is practical and of course it gets repetitive replaying it a million times. I guess I don't really think I ever bothered with skipping it, because personally I don't think it's that even long or tedious in comparison to for example Kotor 2 or DA:O which imo requires more effort. As much as I like kotor 2, the peragus mining facility is a pain in the ass on replays.
As for the goblins..Eh I guess, but kobolds aren't that far off from cliche either..
I've never really understood why Irenicus dungeon is so tedious to people, so much that a specific mod was created to bypass it altogether. I can think of other games that have far longer introductions, that could be a lot more frustrating when replaying the game.
You have Imoen to haste you, traps are minimal and the enemies are hardly tougher than gibberlings.
Having restarted a few playthroughs in BG2 recently, I've noticed that Irenicus' dungeon doesn't seem as grueling as it used to. It's mostly fairly straightforward and has some good story to unravel.
BUT the thing which will forever annoy me is the djinni in the pocket plane of air. We get to the door, it's locked and we have to circle around to find the statuette to open the door. Get to the djinni, talk to him, then have to go back out, circle ALL the way back to the dryads and ask for the flask, then circle ALL the way back to the pocket plane. Get the sword, then again circle ALL the way back to the portal to get to the next level. And since the entire party is required to enter the pocket plane, we can't even send one NPC to speak to the dryads and leave the rest of the party right by the djinni to complete the quest immediately.
It's nice that there is some amount of reactivity (if we already fought Illyich and have the acorns, we can tell this to the dryads and don't have to make more stops) but this is an example of a poorly designed quest where it's basically just walking back and forth between distant parts of a map. There's nothing enjoyable about it and it boils down to doing something else while waiting for the party to slowly walk around.
Certainly the mod is practical and of course it gets repetitive replaying it a million times. I guess I don't really think I ever bothered with skipping it, because personally I don't think it's that even long or tedious in comparison to for example Kotor 2 or DA:O which imo requires more effort. As much as I like kotor 2, the peragus mining facility is a pain in the ass on replays.
As for the goblins..Eh I guess, but kobolds aren't that far off from cliche either..
Speaking as someone who doesn't mind Peragus too much, I guess there are two reasons for that. One being that you solo a lot of it, which makes things quicker (and you basically have unlimited haste to make it even quicker), and the other being that even the wimpiest consular build you can put together will still run over the droids even on difficult, whereas if you tried soloing Irenicus' dungeon with a mage or a bard, well, you could do it, but you'd probably have to rest once or twice, so it wouldn't be that easy. KOTOR is just a much easier game than Baldur's Gate, and only gets easier as you level up.
I feel she is a victim of cut content, namely Imoen's death and the killed 'Stronger' quest. Had Imeon died she'd no longer get comparisons to an otherwise overpowered, better copy of herself. And if the writers had finished her storyline then maybe we could have experienced a fulfilling story arc rather than it just ending at Tor'gal. She's also well written (much like Anomen is), which is not to be confused with likeable. I cringe and smile at some of the stuff she spouts, it's that wonderful combination of the high intelligence and low wisdom (which just reminds me of Xzar and how on paper he's clinically insane but also wise and intelligent to boot haha). My heart definitely aches a little when I hear her 'Another day of freedom...!' line. I'm also a fan of her versitility, yes her thief skills are poor, but that's what rings and potions are in the game for! I buy her lots of mind focusing potions for both a spell learning boost and thief skill boost. And from a role playing perspective she is also very good when Shadowkeeper'd into other classes - Swashbuckler, Bard or Sorceress have been favourites of mine in the past
I also must voice my dislike for Minsc. Sorry Boo.
I've never really understood why Irenicus dungeon is so tedious to people, so much that a specific mod was created to bypass it altogether. I can think of other games that have far longer introductions, that could be a lot more frustrating when replaying the game.
You have Imoen to haste you, traps are minimal and the enemies are hardly tougher than gibberlings.
Having restarted a few playthroughs in BG2 recently, I've noticed that Irenicus' dungeon doesn't seem as grueling as it used to. It's mostly fairly straightforward and has some good story to unravel.
BUT the thing which will forever annoy me is the djinni in the pocket plane of air. We get to the door, it's locked and we have to circle around to find the statuette to open the door. Get to the djinni, talk to him, then have to go back out, circle ALL the way back to the dryads and ask for the flask, then circle ALL the way back to the pocket plane. Get the sword, then again circle ALL the way back to the portal to get to the next level. And since the entire party is required to enter the pocket plane, we can't even send one NPC to speak to the dryads and leave the rest of the party right by the djinni to complete the quest immediately.
It's nice that there is some amount of reactivity (if we already fought Illyich and have the acorns, we can tell this to the dryads and don't have to make more stops) but this is an example of a poorly designed quest where it's basically just walking back and forth between distant parts of a map. There's nothing enjoyable about it and it boils down to doing something else while waiting for the party to slowly walk around.
@Vbibbi , totally agree with you. That's why I use Ctrl + J por this particular part.
And @Jaxsbudgie , I totally agreed about Nalia. Didn't know about this cut content, could you give more details?
@Raduziel wellll I think it's cut content, it's unlike BG to leave a quest still open. When you confront Tor'gal he speaks of a person or persons called 'Stronger', who obviously orchestrated the attack by having Umber Hulks burry into the keep from underneath so the trolls could follow and seize the keep. I have a sneaky suspicion it has something to do with Issea Roenall especially since he takes hold of the keep as soon as no heirs present themselves after you save it. He is also involved in slaving, which you find out when he kidnaps Nalia... and the slavers in Athkatla are in possession of trolls and yuan-ti.
It just feels like all the dots are there but they never connected them all. I wonder if Near Infinity holds any clues...
Comments
Sue me.
- Don't remember if this has been posted before? -
There's way, way too many great magical items in the game which can make fighter-types self-sufficient with buffs too the point of making divine and even arcane buffs unneccessary. Having ie Korgan, Mazzy, and another dwarf fighter type is overkill, making any other NPC unneccessary. (vanilla)
Also I definitely agree on EEkeepering not being cheating sometimes. Especially if it's to create class/race combinations that are allowed in actual AD&D rules (like gnome jesters are a thing).
2) Non-power builds are the most inefficient, but the most fun to play. I've had a blast playing a spear-centered kensai, a dual-wielding dagger halfing barbarian, a quarterstaff kensai->cleric, a werewolf druid. And the new Shaman class is really, really fun.
3) I can't stand playing mages or sorcerers.
4) I always have full parties, and I don't understand why people don't, unless it's just for the challenge.
5) Neutral evil to me is the only alignment that doesn't seem like stupid evil.
6) Baldur's gate is best played on a laptop on your chest, lying down in bed.
Ah well this is a thread about unpopular opinions, not about arguing about others' unpopular opinions so here's one for the road: Saerileth isn't the creepiest BG romance. This honor used to go to Viconia until she had to relinquish the title to Hexxat. And even then I'd put Tsujatha before the paladin.
* Kurona twirls her fake mustache before closing down the orphanage she loaned money to *
As for the romance stuff, I'm guessing you feel that way because of age gaps, and, well, undead, respectively?
I think alignements are more about general motivations rather than actual actions. We see the actions of characters but we don't always know their minds. For instance, Sarevok wants to plunge the sword coast in total chaos, so he is CE even if his actions don't always seem chaotic. Haer'dalis loves chaos but he's not the type who wants to hurt innocent people, therefore he is CN.
Hexxat simply adds necrophilia to the age difference.
Of course it's entirely subjective and considering that my favorite love story is Saya no Uta, it's better to take what I'm saying with a grain of salt.
You have Imoen to haste you, traps are minimal and the enemies are hardly tougher than gibberlings.
As for the goblins..Eh I guess, but kobolds aren't that far off from cliche either..
I don't find either taris, peragus, or the fade that long with each replay.
BUT the thing which will forever annoy me is the djinni in the pocket plane of air. We get to the door, it's locked and we have to circle around to find the statuette to open the door. Get to the djinni, talk to him, then have to go back out, circle ALL the way back to the dryads and ask for the flask, then circle ALL the way back to the pocket plane. Get the sword, then again circle ALL the way back to the portal to get to the next level. And since the entire party is required to enter the pocket plane, we can't even send one NPC to speak to the dryads and leave the rest of the party right by the djinni to complete the quest immediately.
It's nice that there is some amount of reactivity (if we already fought Illyich and have the acorns, we can tell this to the dryads and don't have to make more stops) but this is an example of a poorly designed quest where it's basically just walking back and forth between distant parts of a map. There's nothing enjoyable about it and it boils down to doing something else while waiting for the party to slowly walk around.
I feel she is a victim of cut content, namely Imoen's death and the killed 'Stronger' quest. Had Imeon died she'd no longer get comparisons to an otherwise overpowered, better copy of herself. And if the writers had finished her storyline then maybe we could have experienced a fulfilling story arc rather than it just ending at Tor'gal. She's also well written (much like Anomen is), which is not to be confused with likeable. I cringe and smile at some of the stuff she spouts, it's that wonderful combination of the high intelligence and low wisdom (which just reminds me of Xzar and how on paper he's clinically insane but also wise and intelligent to boot haha). My heart definitely aches a little when I hear her 'Another day of freedom...!' line. I'm also a fan of her versitility, yes her thief skills are poor, but that's what rings and potions are in the game for! I buy her lots of mind focusing potions for both a spell learning boost and thief skill boost. And from a role playing perspective she is also very good when Shadowkeeper'd into other classes - Swashbuckler, Bard or Sorceress have been favourites of mine in the past
I also must voice my dislike for Minsc. Sorry Boo.
And @Jaxsbudgie , I totally agreed about Nalia. Didn't know about this cut content, could you give more details?
PS: She should be a sorcerer or bard IMHO.
It just feels like all the dots are there but they never connected them all. I wonder if Near Infinity holds any clues...
Being first doesn't make something better, or better yet... originating something doesn't make it better or the best.
Combat in RPGs is the boring bit.