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Help out a Mod virgin!

Just read the BG2EE compatible mod thread. So many options its making my head spin. I wonder what people here run with and which components they consider essential and if there are mods you strongly recommend I'd like to hear why. I've not had the best of luck with mods so I am a little bit reticent but hopefully you guys can convince me :).
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  • biffyclangerbiffyclanger Member Posts: 216
    Well what do you run with?
  • biffyclangerbiffyclanger Member Posts: 216
    Mainly things that are fun but doesn't break immersion.
  • YamchaYamcha Member Posts: 486
    SCS to raise the difficulty
    Ascension
    Restoration Project
    Colors of Infinity (Quest mod series)
    http://www.shsforums.net/files/category/106-colours-of-infinity/

    Those are my favourites. the content fits very well in the vanilla game
    biffyclanger
  • mashedtatersmashedtaters Member Posts: 2,266
    I like the G3 bg2 tweaks. It makes a lot of optional convenience and tweaks changes to the game, although many people don't prefer that. I also like unfinished business and npc mods, although I have found that opinions on npc mods are incredibly subjective so the best thing to do is check out which ones appeal to you.
    biffyclangerBeetleNotabarbiegirl
  • AlexDeLargeAlexDeLarge Member Posts: 273
    I'm sort of a purist when it comes to content, so i only play with the original one. My mods are generally BG1NPC project (adds a lot of needed quality banter to otherwise stale companions in bg1), parts of BG2Tweaks (some cosmetics, true grandmastery, max hp at level up) and most of SCS (the majority of spell modifications, very few to no item modifications, all of the AI/encounter difficulty increases). That's it.
    biffyclanger
  • shawneshawne Member Posts: 3,239
    I'm a minimalist when it comes to story content, but there's one mod I'll always go to bat for (and which is, at long last, being steered towards EE compatibility): Ascension. Not so much for the tougher fights, which I don't bother with, but because the story content adds some fantastic roleplaying decisions to ToB with regards to Sarevok, Balthazar and the endgame.

    Other than that, I'd say BG2 Tweaks is standard in terms of making slight gameplay adjustments to your liking. Unfinished Business restores some cut content. And that's about it for me - NPC mods are hit-and-miss, but if you're looking for one or two to try out, I'd recommend looking for characters who suit the party you're putting together.
    biffyclangerMusigny
  • TwentyTwenty Member Posts: 52
    @Dee working on 5e rules for Baldur's Gate 3 confirmed!
  • agb1agb1 Member Posts: 249
    edited January 2016

    And if you're on Windows, you might try using the BWS program... it bills itself as a way to use hundreds of "mega" mods, but it should work perfectly well with a small mod list, and it will handle install order stuff.

    BiG World Setup (BWS) is an automated mod installer; you can pick any mods and components you want, and it will advise you about known problems, conflicts and dependencies, apply the latest community patches, download the mods you chose (if you don't already have them) and then extract them to your game folder and install them for you in the community-recommended installation order. (You can change the installation order, but this is usually not advisable.)

    BWS uses portions of the BiG World Project (BWP) -- bug fixes, language packs (translations and typo fixes) and install streamlining (e.g., some mods do "biffing" - compression - at the end of their installation, and the BWP removes these "biffing" actions from the individual mods and instread does "generalized biffing" at the end of the entire installation). BWS does not use BWP's install script for EE games.

    The core goal of BWP is to maximize compatibility between whatever mods a user wants -- whether it be 3 or 300. It does this by recommending an installation order and by providing patches (via the BiG World Fixpack - https://github.com/BiGWorldProject/BiG-World-Fixpack) that can be applied to mods to solve compatibility issues (in addition to bug fixes) discovered through expert analysis and reported by users.

    tl;dr - BWS is a Windows tool that assists with mod selection and installation; BWP is an installation guide (PDF) plus a collection of patches and scripts (including an install script that BWS does not use for EE games) that improve game stability for whatever mods you use. BWS uses some aspects of BWP but provides more user control.
    biffyclanger
  • Lord_TansheronLord_Tansheron Member Posts: 4,211
    IR
    SR
    SCS
    Ascension

    That's my personal non-negotiable baseline. Certainly more challenging than the original game, but not necessarily crazy difficult (unless you want that; I do).

    BGTweaks

    Has a lot of convenience options, and borderline "cheats" that you can use at your own discretion. Includes things like minor cosmetic tweaks, party AI scripts, multi/dual class for all races, romance multiple characters etc. etc. Completely modular, meaning you only take what you want to take.
    biffyclangerDemivrgvs
  • biffyclangerbiffyclanger Member Posts: 216
    Am I correct in assuming that I don't need to restart a game (Early BG2)to take advantage Ascension?
  • agb1agb1 Member Posts: 249

    Am I correct in assuming that I don't need to restart a game (Early BG2)to take advantage Ascension?

    Probably. You can ask @JediMindTrix and @WhiteAgnus directly in the Ascension thread -- https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/45563/ascension-v1-5-beta-enhanced-edition-release-updated-1-14-2016
  • Lord_TansheronLord_Tansheron Member Posts: 4,211

    Am I correct in assuming that I don't need to restart a game (Early BG2)to take advantage Ascension?

    There should be no problem if you haven't started ToB yet.
  • WhiteAgnusWhiteAgnus Member Posts: 112

    Am I correct in assuming that I don't need to restart a game (Early BG2)to take advantage Ascension?

    You could install it without problems (if you haven't reached ToB yet.... ;))
    JediMindTrix
  • YamchaYamcha Member Posts: 486


    - Fishing For trouble (I love this one, it's tight, focused, balanced, and generally well done.)

    This one isn't available for the EE, is it ?
  • biffyclangerbiffyclanger Member Posts: 216
    BGtweaks I love it! no more shuffling arrows around!!!!
  • biffyclangerbiffyclanger Member Posts: 216
    So far I have SCS, Item Upgrade, BG Tweaks installed and have only encountered minor problems like journal entries not showing up properly but otherwise working pretty well!!! Gonna try some new content next! Do I understand correctly that if I add new Mods that add new quests I will need to re-install SCS?
  • gorgonzolagorgonzola Member Posts: 3,864
    NPC mods: I find Kelsey, Keto and Tashia well written, with banters and an interesting personal quest. I appreciate Tashia's romance as she don't fall immediately at your feets, if you want her love you have to deserve it.
    Quest mods: Tower of Deception (can be hard at low levels), Dungeon Crawl (some OP items, a robe similar to RoV to have 2 fast casters in the party), Back to Brynnlaw (some OP items, but nothing more than what you find in Item Upgrade), The Sellswords ( and there you find real OP stuff, like 10 Protection from Magic scrolls, that you can choose to buy or not) and last but not least Eilistraee's Song.
    Each of those imo is well written, at the level of an official quest. Some of them add too much XP, and if you install many quest mod you will anyway have more XP, but you can install a mod to slow down XP rising and balance or just enjoy your overlevelled toons.
    biffyclangersemiticgoddess
  • doggydoggy Member Posts: 313
    And don't forget dungeon be gone. It makes it possible to skip chateau irencus and is a must have for a lot of people
  • gorgonzolagorgonzola Member Posts: 3,864
    I agree, but not with tactics installed.
    biffyclangersemiticgoddess
  • YamchaYamcha Member Posts: 486
    doggy said:

    And don't forget dungeon be gone. It makes it possible to skip chateau irencus and is a must have for a lot of people

    skip the best part? Never!
    biffyclanger
  • biffyclangerbiffyclanger Member Posts: 216
    doggy said:

    And don't forget dungeon be gone. It makes it possible to skip chateau irencus and is a must have for a lot of people

    I am enjoying the moderate difficulty increase in SCS right now. I know I will get bored of it again soon though so maybe in the future I will install it. Does it mean ill have to uninstall the SCS irenicus component first though?
  • biffyclangerbiffyclanger Member Posts: 216

    NPC mods: I find Kelsey, Keto and Tashia well written, with banters and an interesting personal quest. I appreciate Tashia's romance as she don't fall immediately at your feets, if you want her love you have to deserve it.
    Quest mods: Tower of Deception (can be hard at low levels), Dungeon Crawl (some OP items, a robe similar to RoV to have 2 fast casters in the party), Back to Brynnlaw (some OP items, but nothing more than what you find in Item Upgrade), The Sellswords ( and there you find real OP stuff, like 10 Protection from Magic scrolls, that you can choose to buy or not) and last but not least Eilistraee's Song.
    Each of those imo is well written, at the level of an official quest. Some of them add too much XP, and if you install many quest mod you will anyway have more XP, but you can install a mod to slow down XP rising and balance or just enjoy your overlevelled toons.

    Great recommendations! I will check them out!
  • biffyclangerbiffyclanger Member Posts: 216
    Thanks to all the great recommendations here! I installed Dungeon Crawl, Back to Brynnlaw (Always felt this area lacked content), The Sellswords and Ascension! yay! Can't wait to tuck in. I am happy with the NPCs I have atm so NPC mods will have to wait for a new playthrough.

    Do I need to reinstall SCS for it to work on these mods btw?
  • biffyclangerbiffyclanger Member Posts: 216
    Also Tower of Deception isn't on the list of EE Compatible mods so I skipped it. Looks interesting though.
  • mashedtatersmashedtaters Member Posts: 2,266
    edited January 2016

    Thanks to all the great recommendations here! I installed Dungeon Crawl, Back to Brynnlaw (Always felt this area lacked content), The Sellswords and Ascension! yay! Can't wait to tuck in. I am happy with the NPCs I have atm so NPC mods will have to wait for a new playthrough.

    Do I need to reinstall SCS for it to work on these mods btw?

    It depends on the mods. Different mods affect different files, depending on how they are written. Make sure to follow the mod install order.

    https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/23726/bgii-ee-compatible-mod-list/p1

    I have found, despite what is said by the mod-makers and various gamers, that my modded games are the edit:MOST bug free if I only do one clean install at the beginning of a new game. Even the G3BG2Tweaks, which is arguably the least buggy mod out there, plays best on a clean, one-time install.

    That said, I am not sure how to best answer your question. You may not need to re-install SCS. However, did you install something out of order? If so, you may experience some bugs during play. And, if you installed out of order (which from your posts it seems that you did), it is possible that a file which SCS needs to use is now changed by a mod you installed after SCS. In that case, re-installing SCS will not do anything because it will still need to access that changed file.

    Modding the game is the best way to enhance your gaming experience. Unfortunately, it can also come with some headaches for the uninitiated. My advice is just keep playing, which is what I did last time I installed out of order. It may be that you won't encounter any game-breaking bugs, and why completely restart your game on the off-chance that you might? If you do encounter some nasty bugs, you can just restart then. Make sure that, if you do re-start, that you modify a clean install only once in the correct order, using the thread that I linked above. That will give you the best chance of playing bug free.
  • biffyclangerbiffyclanger Member Posts: 216

    NPC mods: I find Kelsey, Keto and Tashia well written, with banters and an interesting personal quest. I appreciate Tashia's romance as she don't fall immediately at your feets, if you want her love you have to deserve it.
    Quest mods: Tower of Deception (can be hard at low levels), Dungeon Crawl (some OP items, a robe similar to RoV to have 2 fast casters in the party), Back to Brynnlaw (some OP items, but nothing more than what you find in Item Upgrade), The Sellswords ( and there you find real OP stuff, like 10 Protection from Magic scrolls, that you can choose to buy or not) and last but not least Eilistraee's Song.
    Each of those imo is well written, at the level of an official quest. Some of them add too much XP, and if you install many quest mod you will anyway have more XP, but you can install a mod to slow down XP rising and balance or just enjoy your overlevelled toons.

    Btw I just finished Dungeon Crawl in Chapter 2. Its well made and fun albeit a little on the short side. Final boss was too easy and I couldn't for the life of me find the OP robe you are talking about. Tried all options and explored all corners of the mod, are you sure its not in a different mod?
  • gorgonzolagorgonzola Member Posts: 3,864
    @biffyclanger ,
    About Dungeon be Gone, before intalling it try the Chateau Irenicus component of Tactics Mod.
    Is the less cheating, maybe don't cheat at all, but is something that imo is worth to be experienced at least once (when you have become a strong tactical player, otherway is just a utterly frustrating nightmare).

    About Dungeon Crawl in the second floor of the Dungeon, just after the blinding trap, you meet some people who ask you to kill a Beholder. Did you kill it? Well.... a lot of fun lost.
    Try to talk to him, he is a very polite guy, and a shopkeeper, he and his friend has the good stuff.
    Hope you have a save before it.

    Too bad that TOD is not EEcompatible, imo is the best from the tactical challenge point of wiew, nothing impossible if you go there at the appropriate level, but designed very well. In the short time of a single quest 3 riddles to solve, Shadows whith their S. Lord, a strong demon (that maybe in my setup was enhanced by tactics), a lich, a Marilith, stronger than WK ones, an area filled whith stong lizards, Salamanders and lizard casters. And, when you think is all done, a lot of time after is all done..... surprise: a strong F/M, a real one, that use magic and mlee, like or better then your PWG F/Mages. AFAIK the only enemy F/M in modded or unmodded BG2.
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