Combat in BG2

toromos

So I'm getting my feet wet with BG2. The one thing that has become clear to me is that combats are way more difficult than in BG1. It seems like I have to completely buff up and have my mages blow everything to smithereens just to stand a chance.

In BG1 I felt there was a good balance of cakewalks and tough fights. In BG2, except for the occasional goblin encounter, every fight has taken everything I have to make it through.

Is the whole game like this? I'm not complaining exactly, but I do feel this will get tedious after awhile.

Chidojuan

It gets worse, a lot worse, with Mage fights. Not in a bad way mind you, it's incredibly entertaining, but the good news is, once you figure out how to beat them, you can install SCS and get your butt kicked no matter what you try.

moody_mage

If you've just got started then this is to be expected. You'll soon level up and get some cool gear which will help. You'll also start to learn the magic system.

Magic was treated as a 'nice to have but not essential' in BG1. In BG2 it's far more important.

lunar

It has a steep curve, true. Compared to bg1. In bg1 most enemies are one trick ponies. Kobolds have fire arrows, hobgoblins have poison arrows, basilisks petrify, Tarnesh horrors and magic missiles, etc. Once you learn and get through their tricks, they are simple. In bg2, enemies have more options, more spells, and tactics. A lich can drop any spell on you and has tons of immunities. A beholder can spam so many different threats. A vampire can drain levels and make you weaker, and can also charm/dominate your members.

Good news is you gain levels fast in bg2, and you have more options and power, too. Most classes start to come into their own at lvls 13-14. Until then some battles may prove to be challenging. Also, bg2 is an open world, there may be some areas and quests and enemies too difficult for your current levels. Try to stick to easier/safer quests for the low levels, and work your way up to tougher ones. Use common sense. Fighting local corrupted slavers in a lowly bar should be easier than going off to travel between different planes of existence.

Jarrakul

Combat in BG2 is more complicated. Enemies are more difficult and more complex, but you have more tools in your toolbox as well. Which means combat in BG2 takes more skill, and more thought, to handle well than combat in BG1, even if an optimally-managed party may actually have an easier time in BG2. So yeah, it is harder, at least if you haven't already played the game 87 million times.

DrHappyAngry

Don't neglect spells just because they don't do any damage. Pierce magic, breech and dispel magic are key in mage fights, and resist fear and chaotic commands are necessary for a lot of others, or make them a cake walk. Chaos is also one of my favorites, the enemy can't hurt you if they're just derping around.

toromos

Thanks everyone. I'm starting to get the hang of it. I have found Jaheira's insect plague works well against spell casters. I got so used to my dwarf f/c smashing through everything that I forgot about the need for strategy!

Clumsy_Dwarf

@toromos Another big difference is that group make up an balance is far more important. I have beaten BG1 with Jaheira as my only spellcaster without too many issues. There is no way one should consider that in BG2. Personally, I shoot for something like this for minimums..

2 melee (1 geared to take and midigate damage and another geared to deal it)
1.5 Arcane casrers (sorcerers, mages, specialists. I concider bards to be 1/2 mages.)
2 divine casters (one focused on buffs and damage and the other on healing and control spells like hold person)
1 Thief (You should get 100 in open locks and find/remove traps)

New because of dual and multiclass NPCs, I usually have one more slot open. You can rotate in NPCs to do their quests or make a 2nd character with the Protagonist to make the group balanced to your playstyle.

Last piece of advice, make a named save when you start a quest and every time you progress that quest. Quicksave after every fight and before one. I can not count the times wherething went south really fast and really hard, usully due to a failed saving throw. It is far more important in BG2 to do this.

naggert

DrHappyAngry said:

Don't neglect spells just because they don't do any damage. Pierce magic, breech and dispel magic are key in mage fights, and resist fear and chaotic commands are necessary for a lot of others, or make them a cake walk. Chaos is also one of my favorites, the enemy can't hurt you if they're just derping around.

I used to have a lot of problems with mind flayers and umber hulks. But now I just cast chaotic command and haste on my main fighters and have them blast through mindflayer dungeons in minutes (used to take hours and tons of frustration).

My point is, one single spell can really make a huge difference.

Durenas

Improved haste is an amazing buff. It doubles the number of attacks you make per round. If you're normally swinging 3 times per round(pretty typical for your bog standard 2h fighter type), Improved Haste will make you swing 6 times per round.