why cannot get into the game

Bboy2073

hello I am a long time fan of many Rpgs from recent pillars of eternity series to knights of the old republic. I gor Bg1 EE last year on sale and played through it and loved it. After that a few months later I purchased bg2 EE on sale,however, I cannot get into that game no matter how hard I try. I have over 20 hours in that game it is all be spent making a character getting bored and restarting. It is beyond infuriating because I loved bg1 and I hear 2 is that and more. What are some ways I could get more into the game because i want to play it? A lot of people I know say it is one of the best Rpgs they have played.

joluv

Wow, beyond infuriating?

How far have you progressed in the game, and what quests have you tried? Many people find the first dungeon pretty boring, but the game really opens up after that.

Sharguild

It would help I suppose if you identified what it is that bores you.
- The story?
- The settings?
- your character?
If it is your character, then perhaps you need to look at what you want from the game.
Very powerful characters can instill thoughts of "yeah yeah, whack this, stab that, been there done that".
Gimped characters can have you on the edge of your seat each fight but if you die a lot, frustration sets in and you lose interest in overcoming insurmountable odds.
Playing a character totally different from BG 1 will spice it up.
Try a Thief perhaps. I find them quite a challenge to master.
If you are not even getting far past the creation screen, then I suggest the problem is "not getting on with it". Many will tell you, you can win this game with almost ANY built character if you are building a full party. You need to get into the game and see what that character can do.
Now, Chateau Irenicus can be frustrating and linear compared to BG1 BUT that little dungeon crawl, once over, prepares you for an enormous world.
I think once you are free of it, the rest of the story with be a (literally) breath of fresh air.

M2C

Bboy2073

yea what class other than thief would be fun to play I played a blade in Bg1

joluv

They're all fun. People want to be helpful, but seriously, you're going to need to give some information about your preferences and situation to get useful feedback.

Bboy2073

I do enjoy magic users. I do not like classes were you just click on stuff and kill(example fighter).

TheVerySpecialK

@Bboy2073 You're not the only one!

I honestly have trouble getting in to BG2 as well, mainly due to issues with the plot. The first of these that comes to mind concerns Iomen's kidnapping at the very beginning: unlike in BG1, you immediately have a very specific objective that everything suddenly revolves around. Sure, it's possible to ignore Iomen entirely and just focus on side-quests at the start, but I personally find this difficult due to the fact that charname knows she is being tortured on a daily basis.

The second major issue I have with the plot is the fact that everything turns into a roller-coaster as soon as you embark for Spellhold. BG1 had masterful pacing that allowed for breathing room between chapters, while BG2 sort of just picks up and goes: you get a little free time at the start, a little before the end, and that's about it; the rest is a linear thrill-ride that doesn't really give charname any good opportunities or reasons to embark on side-quests.

Don't get me wrong; the environments and characters in BG2 are nothing short of amazing. Instead of giving charname a chance to gradually explore these new and mysterious elements, however, the plot makes everything around charname feel like a mere "means to an end" that must be overcome rather than savored: it's hard to enjoy side-quests early-on due to Iomen being tortured, and it's hard to enjoy them later on because charname knows Irenicus is poised to unleash war and other bad things.

In other words, the plot is a lot of "gotta go save her" or "gotta go stop him," and very little "wow, that cave looks cool, I wonder what's in there?" I would almost go as far as to say that BG2 is geared more towards evil charnames in that an evil charname would have a far easier time ignoring the Iomen dreams RP wise (and thus feel more comfortable taking time with side-quests and exploration at the start before sauntering off to pay Irenicus a visit).

All that said, it's still a great game and there are definitely ways to enjoy it: it's just not written in the relaxed style of BG1, which for me was disappointing. Accepting that it's a different game written in a different style is literally the best way to get into it. Anyways, have fun and good luck with your playthrough!

lunar

You can do a heavy role playing, and play your character as an extension of yourself. Do some quizes on the net like 'what d&d class are you?' 'What are your d&d stats?' 'What is your alignment?' And play a character made of those results. That would be your very own avatar in the game. Now imagine you yourself wake up in the torture chamber of a mad man, in a horrible dungeon-laboratory, and don't remember how or why you are there. There are friends that say they remember you but you don't. Everyone says you are special and you don't believe them (at first) Did the mad man's experiments and tortures break your psyche? What are you gonna do to survive? How will you react to everyone and everything as 'you?' Play yourself!
If that won't get you into the game nothing will.

DragonKing

Have you tried replaying bg1 and then just carrying the character over? If you beat bg1 and loved it, then that should fix your problem. You may need bg1ee though since I don't know if bg1 characters can be tossed into bg2ee

sarevok57

DragonKing said:

Have you tried replaying bg1 and then just carrying the character over? If you beat bg1 and loved it, then that should fix your problem. You may need bg1ee though since I don't know if bg1 characters can be tossed into bg2ee

if im not mistaken I heard they cannot be transferred like that anymore, although when bg1ee first game out I was able to transfer a bgee game into vanilla bg2

Skatan

sarevok57 said:

DragonKing said:

Have you tried replaying bg1 and then just carrying the character over? If you beat bg1 and loved it, then that should fix your problem. You may need bg1ee though since I don't know if bg1 characters can be tossed into bg2ee

if im not mistaken I heard they cannot be transferred like that anymore, although when bg1ee first game out I was able to transfer a bgee game into vanilla bg2

Not an issue here since OP said he/she has both BG1EE and BG2EE.

@Bboy2073, I think you have gotten quite a few good advice here from @sharguild, @lunar and @dragonking, but if it's your first time through I would say that playing a fairly strong charname is probably the best way to get into the game 'cause then you will not have to rely on NPC's. With that said though, BG2 offers the best NPC's in any RPG and having a full party is recommended for the funny banters and interactions. Also, they add there own quests which add depth to their characters.

If you don't want to play your blade, create a couple of new chars, try them out in the starting dungeon and get a feel for what you prefer. You like magic, so either go dual class fighter->mage or some kind of thief->mage. Or you could create a F/C, F/M, F/D for a little bit of both worlds. If you want a challenge, go for something you never tried before, like a monk perhaps, and try out something completely different. Maybe then will you find what you seek.

The last advice I can give is to perhaps not linger in Athkatla for too long in the beginning. Get out into the world and visit d'arnise keep, the windspear or umar hills etc. Don't be afraid of switching focus between quests and go a completely different way for some time only to return later, when you are stronger. There's NO NEED to go for Imoen asap. Build your strenght and power, build wealth and accumulate gear and experience.

Ppl would probably be willing to pay to experience BG2 from scratch again, to not remember everyinth and know everything, hehe.. You are blessed in that way, even if you don't know it yourself

I hope you find your way, it's really worth it. If all else fails, go play IWD for a while and you will soon want to create a proper BG2 char again :P

deltago

Have you tried playing through with your Blade?

If you are constantly just recreating characters and getting bored with them, it may be due to you not feeling connected with them. You already have that connection with your BG1 character so just importing him in and going would probably solve the trick.

As others said, the first dungeon can be a grind, but just get through it and the game opens up.

TheVerySpecialK

Skatan said:

There's NO NEED to go for Imoen asap.

Iomen, childhood friend of charname and loyal companion throughout countless adventures is being held and tortured by a psychopathic wizard, but eh, charname has other things to do... I must ask, how do you RP that one, especially if you are playing a good character?

BillyYank

TheVerySpecialK said:

Skatan said:

There's NO NEED to go for Imoen asap.

Iomen, childhood friend of charname and loyal companion throughout countless adventures is being held and tortured by a psychopathic wizard, but eh, charname has other things to do... I must ask, how do you RP that one, especially if you are playing a good character?

"I need to rescue Imoen, but I'm not powerful enough to take on that monster. I need better gear, powerful companions and more personal power."

Durenas

[spoiler]get Imoen when your group XP averages 1.2 million.

raeshia

TheVerySpecialK said:

Skatan said:

There's NO NEED to go for Imoen asap.

Iomen, childhood friend of charname and loyal companion throughout countless adventures is being held and tortured by a psychopathic wizard, but eh, charname has other things to do... I must ask, how do you RP that one, especially if you are playing a good character?

You really don't unless you mod it to need 100,000 to continue, and it stands out a bit like a sore thumb, but honestly it feels even more weird to me spending months running around Amn in later chapters considering what main plot events that have gone down, the game flows much better if most of the side stuff is done by the time you get there in my opinion.

Yannir

TheVerySpecialK said:

Skatan said:

There's NO NEED to go for Imoen asap.

Iomen, childhood friend of charname and loyal companion throughout countless adventures is being held and tortured by a psychopathic wizard, but eh, charname has other things to do... I must ask, how do you RP that one, especially if you are playing a good character?

Charname doesn't actually know that Imoen is being tortured or anything. They think she is just being held captive by the Cowled Wizards. YOU as the player know about Irenicus's coup from cutscenes, but the charname doesn't.

Skatan

TheVerySpecialK said:

Skatan said:

There's NO NEED to go for Imoen asap.

Iomen, childhood friend of charname and loyal companion throughout countless adventures is being held and tortured by a psychopathic wizard, but eh, charname has other things to do... I must ask, how do you RP that one, especially if you are playing a good character?

Yannir said:

Charname doesn't actually know that Imoen is being tortured or anything. They think she is just being held captive by the Cowled Wizards. YOU as the player know about Irenicus's coup from cutscenes, but the charname doesn't.

^- This.

Spoilers below.

Sure you dream, but you don't KNOW she's being tortured. She's in a prison with the cowled wizards, not in Irenicus' dungeon being tortured. For all you know, Irenicus' is being held as well and can't harm her in any way. You know YOU are being hunted, so you can even RP that it's prolly safer for her being there than being out in the grim world with you, facing danger and potential death every single day. Besides, there are alot of alignments which would make your character not even care about her wellbeing, so it ofc depends on what character you play.

atcDave

I always find the speedy rescue of Imoen to be the most urgent and compelling motivation of the whole series. That's the very thing that made me care about the start of BG2.

The whole stolen soul scenario later is sort of a "yeah, yeah whatever" moment for me; but recovering little sister is huge. And no matter what the story suggests, I KNOW she's my sister...

Mirage

Another thing that I remember frustrated me when I started played Baldur's Gate, either 1 or 2, was my personal character and from what you wrote @Bboy2073 I see you have issues selecting a class.
The thing that bothered me was that my companions seemed in many battles much more capable and stronger than the CHARNAME.
I would suggest that you just pick a multiclass that you enjoy and go for it
(Maybe try Cleric/Mage, slower spell progression but TONS and LOTS of different spells, you can also melee if you want. In TOB you will be a god)

Yannir

On the subject of dreams, the dreams that are presented to you are in no way exceptional. Dreamscape is a weird place, and the most meaningful and realistic dreams may be total nonsense. These dreams are just a few among an ocean of dreams that is never presented to the player, or the PC may be someone who normally doesn't see dreams. Things happening in the screen are not the only things happening, even if it may feel that way.

RPG-wise it is your choice whether your PC feels these dreams are real or prophetic or whatever, or just total nonsense. Even if you are moving the character in the dream, it is up to you to decide how your PC feels it, whether they are in control of themselves or if they are being controlled by an outside will.