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New to the game and a bit overwhelmed

OldGoldDiggerOldGoldDigger Member Posts: 8
in Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition
Ok, so I guess I am pretty spoiled by all these modern games and feel a little like I am drowning here.
I have tried to read a bunch of discussions but are very unsure how to proceed.


The story so far:

1) Started the game.
Played for a while but realized I was in way over my head and it totally Did Not Work. Like At All.

Read a bunch on different forums.

2) Started a new game, rerolled a bunch of times to get somewhat OK stats, but probably made some mistakes again

Created a Cavalier
Str 18/82
Dex 17 (Probably a slight mistake I think? Should take one point from int and put it in dex)
Con 18
Int 11
Wis 13
Cha 17
Two dots in two handed sword. One dot in axes, one dot in two handed fighting style (maybe a mistake?)

Recruited the two evil NPCs, recruited Khalid + Jaheira

In Beregrost the evil wizard died when i tried to rescue Neera.
Recruited Neera and went to Nashkel mines. Imoen and Jaheira was now lvl 2, everybody else was lvl 1.
Did a bunch of fights but had a really hard time, read on some forum recommended lvl for the mines was about 3 or so.

3) Reloaded from start of Chapter 1.
Did not recruit the evil NPCs, recruited Khalid and Jaheira, discovered a bunch of quests around the inn I missed the first time
On the way to Beregrost discovered a bunch of items and quests I missed the first time
In Beregrost recruited Neera and discovered a bunch of quests I missed the first time.
Jaheira really did not want to linger any more so set sail for Nashkel.

Now I have made at few quests in Nashkel, dug up a buried armor, have wiped out the Xvart village and... now I am really unsure how to proceed.
Everybody in the party is lvl 2 besides Neera, still lvl 1. Reputation is at 14.
Have identified a few items in temples, dont have money to identify all just yet.

a) I am thinking about temporarily dumping Neera, get minsc for dynaheir quest (that quest maybe is to hard for my lvl?) then dump minsc+dynaheir and get Neera back.
b) I think that I for now want Branwen in my party but then I would have to dump her and neera for minsc+dynaheir quest.
c) Mines are still to early I think. Is there enough XP (and time) around here so I can get to lvl 3 and enter mines with my party and end Jaherias timer for entering the mines? (I strongly suspect completing mines will end chapter 2 and maybe then cannot do any uncompleted quests in Nashkel)

Plans for the future:
At lvl 5 dual Imoen to mage, hopefully can get detect traps to 85 by then
Maybe try out Neera romance (not sure about that though)

Planned party:
Me (Cavalier)
Imoen
Khalid
Jaheira
Neera
Branwen

Suggestions?
I am really unsure what to do next right now
Maybe add another ranged damage dealer? Now it pretty much is Imoen, that also will be a mage. I read that Khalid is decent with a longbow.
Up until now, Neera has been pretty much useless but I guess she will improve later on.
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Comments

  • DJKajuruDJKajuru Member Posts: 3,300
    edited January 2017
    Also, make use of wands amd potions either found or bought - they make a huge difference in difficult battles.
    Post edited by DJKajuru on
  • brunardobrunardo Member Posts: 526
    Great stats and good party mix, keep your main PC protected nothing wrong with guerilla tactics, sending pawns/npcs first and potions as mentioned above...if he dies game over, had alot of fun playing neera and personally recommend keeping but can always switch.
  • Grond0Grond0 Member Posts: 7,320
    Lots of good advice there OldGoldDigger. I would certainly agree with the 'save often, don't worry if you die and have fun' philosophy. That's a bit different from modern games, but dying in Baldur's Gate is pretty easy :D.

    A couple of points about tactics if you haven't already worked those out.
    - nearly all enemies in unmodded games will attack the first member of the party they see. Some will switch if attacked by others, but there aren't many that do that if your lead character gets as close as possible to the enemy. Hence you really only need one good tank to take the lead and provide a focus for all enemy attacks - you're far better off giving all the best defensive equipment to that character than spreading it over several characters.
    - mage spells are potent in BG1, especially sleep which can make lots of difficult fights in the early game trivial. You can buy spells at High Hedge - including sleep (and identify, which is a great money saver). If you're worried about the danger from using a wild mage (who can disastrously fail with attempted casts of their own spells) then you could get Neera to use wands instead - there are quite a few of those in the game, including a couple for sale at High Hedge.
  • deltagodeltago Member Posts: 7,811
    Another slight mention.

    Jaheira's timer is now off and she will no longer bug you about doing the mines, so do not worry about that as you explore around Nashkel.

    And IIRC, she and Khalid won't leave the party if the timer ever runs out. She'll just have a defeatist attitude while mentioning Nashkel one more time.
  • BillyYankBillyYank Member Posts: 2,768
    One thing I noticed in your cavalier build is you don't have a missile weapon. Bows reign supreme in BG1, so I would put your next pip in longbows. Right now you can buy throwing axes, but you'll go through them pretty quickly.
  • bob_vengbob_veng Member Posts: 2,308
    Don't save potions. Use almost all potions you find immediately (as long as you know there will be fightin'). The ones you don't want to use are either generally useless on have specific non-combat purposes (thieving skills potions and increasing intelligence for spell learning chance mainly). Look for potions that have relatively long durations. Use those especially and don't rest after battles then. Replenish health with healing potions and rest when you're tired. Don't worry about wasting anything, the game is filled to the brim with consumables and everybody finishes the game with loads of spare resources of all kinds.
  • Grond0Grond0 Member Posts: 7,320
    BillyYank said:

    One thing I noticed in your cavalier build is you don't have a missile weapon. Bows reign supreme in BG1, so I would put your next pip in longbows. Right now you can buy throwing axes, but you'll go through them pretty quickly.

    There is a good reason for that - cavaliers can only use axes and daggers as missile weapons :). In the original game axes were very heavy and came in small stacks which made them a bit of a pain to use as a main weapon. However, that's not really a problem in the EE so there's no reason to reconsider your choice of class on those grounds - the bonus strength damage done by axes makes them a decent choice for a missile weapon for fighters with exceptional strength anyway.
  • ThacoBellThacoBell Member Posts: 12,235
    @OldGoldDigger How did your first use of the wand of lightning go? My first use ended killing my entire party :smiley:
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 0
    edited January 2017
    The user and all related content has been deleted.
  • BillyYankBillyYank Member Posts: 2,768
    Grond0 said:

    BillyYank said:

    One thing I noticed in your cavalier build is you don't have a missile weapon. Bows reign supreme in BG1, so I would put your next pip in longbows. Right now you can buy throwing axes, but you'll go through them pretty quickly.

    There is a good reason for that - cavaliers can only use axes and daggers as missile weapons :). In the original game axes were very heavy and came in small stacks which made them a bit of a pain to use as a main weapon. However, that's not really a problem in the EE so there's no reason to reconsider your choice of class on those grounds - the bonus strength damage done by axes makes them a decent choice for a missile weapon for fighters with exceptional strength anyway.
    Ah, right, forgot about that.
  • Papa_LouPapa_Lou Member Posts: 263
    I've actually tried to get several of my friends into the Baldur's Gate games, and I wish they had the same mentality about it as you do.

    Unfortunately, a lot of modern games have made it difficult for people to go back and give older games a shot. Baldur's Gate certainly won't hold your hand like a lot of games today will. There are gonna be some pretty hard parts (especially when you reach BG2), and they'll really test your skills, but it's all a part of the fun.

    As other people have said, try your best to avoid spoiling anything for yourself, as, in my opinion, the story is what really makes the BG games shine. You've got a really good protagonist (I'm currently playing through with a cavalier myself- awesome class), and a really fun party. I agree with the others, though- Neera might be a little difficult to play for your first run. She's not like other mages. If you do pick up Xan and he's not really your groove, you could always go grab Dynaheir like you originally planned. She's a really good mage, and would fit in well with the others you plan on taking along with you.

    Have fun my dude! I promise this won't be your only play through. ;)
  • GoreshaGoresha Member Posts: 4
    Best advice I can give is to take it slow. Explore everything, rest whenever you need, save all the time. The safe party is usually considered to be Khalid, Jaheria, Minsc, Dynaheir, and Imoen. Having a cavalier with good stats rounds out the party well, so you and Khalid can take the heat in battle. Plus in BG2, paladins get the best weapon in the game. Good luck, and enjoy!
  • OldGoldDiggerOldGoldDigger Member Posts: 8
    Grond0 said:

    Lots of good advice there OldGoldDigger. I would certainly agree with the 'save often, don't worry if you die and have fun' philosophy. That's a bit different from modern games, but dying in Baldur's Gate is pretty easy :D.

    A couple of points about tactics if you haven't already worked those out.
    - nearly all enemies in unmodded games will attack the first member of the party they see. Some will switch if attacked by others, but there aren't many that do that if your lead character gets as close as possible to the enemy.

    In some fights I had some Benny Hill moments when Neera or Imoen had to run in circles while my char tried to get the attention of the monster. Sometimes it worked, sometime not.
    From now on I will make sure my char is the first thing the monsters see (and hopefully the last as well)
  • OldGoldDiggerOldGoldDigger Member Posts: 8
    edited January 2017
    Goresha said:

    Best advice I can give is to take it slow. Explore everything, rest whenever you need, save all the time. The safe party is usually considered to be Khalid, Jaheria, Minsc, Dynaheir, and Imoen. Having a cavalier with good stats rounds out the party well, so you and Khalid can take the heat in battle. Plus in BG2, paladins get the best weapon in the game. Good luck, and enjoy!

    I really hope I will find a magical 2 handed sword soon.

    I will for sure follow your advice and since I now know thanks to you guys there are no hidden timers ticking (for now) I will try to conclude all business around Nashkel before going wherever the story takes my happy little gang

    Edit: I just realizes "happy" is a relative term when Khalid is in the party. The others seem to have a good time though
  • OldGoldDiggerOldGoldDigger Member Posts: 8
    ThacoBell said:

    @OldGoldDigger How did your first use of the wand of lightning go? My first use ended killing my entire party :smiley:

    It went fairly well I think. For sure it was kind of a wow moment when I saw how powerful that thing was at my level. 2 dead enemies, zero dead party members.
  • OldGoldDiggerOldGoldDigger Member Posts: 8
    edited January 2017
    BillyYank said:

    One thing I noticed in your cavalier build is you don't have a missile weapon. Bows reign supreme in BG1, so I would put your next pip in longbows. Right now you can buy throwing axes, but you'll go through them pretty quickly.

    The reason as another already commented is that thrown axes are my only ranged option.
    The throw animation seems slow, I guess thats just how thrown axes work and usually in fights I throw one axe, then switch to two-handed and march into the sea of enemies, a little later I let Khalid join the close combat.

    I am a little unsure if I can hunker down somehow and really, really try to avoid being hit while the rest of the team rains arrows, pebbles and magic on the monsters. There is a shield icon (Guard) I tried pressing hoping that will activate some extra protection but I dont see any obvious difference, I seem to be hit about as much/little as when attacking.
  • StormvesselStormvessel Member Posts: 654
    edited January 2017
    Your character is FINE. There is a dex tome in the game that will bring it up to 18. There is no difference between 18dex and 19dex in terms of AC - only in terms of ranged bonus (which Cavaliers can't use anyway). In BG2 it will go up to 19 (Lum's Machine), and again, there is no AC difference between 19 and 20. But the 11 INT will become 12INT w/ tome, which + Pot of Genius = 16INT, which ensures that you will have no trouble whatsoever with Mindflayers.

    Your profiency point allocation is perfect. Two-handed Sword is what you want (Spider's Bane BG1, Carsomyr BG2). More than one pip in two-handed weapon style is a waste, and you're going to want to specialize in Axes anyway as you can't use ranged.

    From a powergaming perspective, you're stat allocation was actually PERFECT. I wouldn't change anything.

    In BG2 your INT will hit 13 which is what you'll want to sac in dream (remember this). Also, by then you should have 19 Charisma which, with 20 reputation, is close to perfect in terms of bartering.

    You may not understand any of this now. I'm more of a powergamer and you're new so that's understandable. Just rest comfortably knowing that, if played correctly, your character is not only fine - but it couldn't possibly be any stronger.

    Just be sure to grab all the stat tomes...and not to become Fallen. It's pretty easy for new players to fell their Paladins by accident. A Fallen Paladin is nothing more than a severely gimped fighter, so be careful not to do this.
  • UnderstandMouseMagicUnderstandMouseMagic Member Posts: 2,147
    I'd suggest for a first time player,

    any mage but Neera.

    You want to learn how to use magic effectively, play around a bit with different spells, see the extent of area of effect spells, ect., without the hassel of worrying whether it will backfire.

    Of course you should pick up Edwin, but these bloody paladins....what can you do?
  • OldGoldDiggerOldGoldDigger Member Posts: 8
    Stormvessel said:

    From a powergaming perspective, you're stat allocation was actually PERFECT. I wouldn't change anything.

    In BG2 your INT will hit 13 which is what you'll want to sac in dream (remember this). Also, by then you should have 19 Charisma which, with 20 reputation, is close to perfect in terms of bartering.

    You may not understand any of this now. I'm more of a powergamer and you're new so that's understandable. Just rest comfortably knowing that, if played correctly, your character is not only fine - but it couldn't possibly be any stronger.

    Just be sure to grab all the stat tomes...and not to become Fallen. It's pretty easy for new players to fell their Paladins by accident. A Fallen Paladin is nothing more than a severely gimped fighter, so be careful not to do this.

    I try to guard my reputation and act like an angel in all situations. My party keep telling me Gorion would have been proud (yeah, yeah, I heard you the first twenty times).

    I am glad to hear that I more or less by accident seems to have made the right choices.
    And yes, you are absolutely correct. I don't understand much of what you are writing :smile:
    But I will remember "sac in dream" hoping I will know what it means sometimes in the future
  • GallowglassGallowglass Member Posts: 3,356
    Goresha said:

    ... so you and Khalid can take the heat in battle.

    OldGoldDigger said:

    ... a little later I let Khalid join the close combat.

    A tactical combat tip for both of you: at the current level of @OldGoldDigger's party, letting Khalid run into melee with his Longsword is the most effective choice. However, as soon as Khalid reaches level 3 and you can give him a second proficiency point in Longbows (and even more so at level 6 when he can gain a third point in Longbows), it's generally more effective to hold Khalid back in the second row and let him use his bow instead of running into melee. Instead, you can send Jaheira forward into melee - she's not quite as good at melee damage as Khalid (although with good armour she's amply tough enough to survive out in front and keep the enemies occupied), while Khalid is much better than her at ranged damage, so the overall balance is more damage done for no increased risk. Also, using Khalid as an archer largely prevents him from having a morale failure and running away (for which he is well known when used in melee). (And when he has three points in Longbows, he's then a really excellent archer - I strongly recommend this to any player who hasn't yet tried it.)
    Grond0 said:

    ... you really only need one good tank to take the lead and provide a focus for all enemy attacks ...

    That's true, but I don't recommend it to new players, and even as an experienced player I don't usually do it that way. It's easier and safer to have two characters who can stand up in close combat.
  • OlvynChuruOlvynChuru Member Posts: 3,075
    Here are my suggestions:

    *If a party member dies, either reload or get them resurrected immediately. Don't carry around dead people for a long period of time, because they won't get experience while they're dead.
    *Identify all items before you equip them. Some items are cursed and you don't want to equip those.
  • StormvesselStormvessel Member Posts: 654
    edited January 2017
    OldGoldDigger said:

    Stormvessel said:

    From a powergaming perspective, you're stat allocation was actually PERFECT. I wouldn't change anything.

    In BG2 your INT will hit 13 which is what you'll want to sac in dream (remember this). Also, by then you should have 19 Charisma which, with 20 reputation, is close to perfect in terms of bartering.

    You may not understand any of this now. I'm more of a powergamer and you're new so that's understandable. Just rest comfortably knowing that, if played correctly, your character is not only fine - but it couldn't possibly be any stronger.

    Just be sure to grab all the stat tomes...and not to become Fallen. It's pretty easy for new players to fell their Paladins by accident. A Fallen Paladin is nothing more than a severely gimped fighter, so be careful not to do this.

    I try to guard my reputation and act like an angel in all situations. My party keep telling me Gorion would have been proud (yeah, yeah, I heard you the first twenty times).

    I am glad to hear that I more or less by accident seems to have made the right choices.
    And yes, you are absolutely correct. I don't understand much of what you are writing :smile:
    But I will remember "sac in dream" hoping I will know what it means sometimes in the future
    That's for BG2EE. I don't want to give too much away by telling you what and when it happens - but one side effect is you have to sacrifice a point in an attribute (it can't be charisma). By then you should have 13 INT and 12 is all you need (+4 Pot of Genius = 16 and mindflayers become a breeze). Be sure to get all the tomes - there are 8 of them in BGEE, so get them all (don't forget the Str tome in the catacombs - you'll know when you're there).

    Alternatively, you could've started with 18 dex and 10 int which would've made the early goings easier - but in the long run there is no difference (you would just dream sac dex instead of int).

    Your character is perfectly built. With correct play it couldn't possibly be any stronger.
  • StormvesselStormvessel Member Posts: 654
    edited January 2017
    Gallowglass said:

    Goresha said:

    ... so you and Khalid can take the heat in battle.

    OldGoldDigger said:

    ... a little later I let Khalid join the close combat.

    A tactical combat tip for both of you: at the current level of @OldGoldDigger's party, letting Khalid run into melee with his Longsword is the most effective choice. However, as soon as Khalid reaches level 3 and you can give him a second proficiency point in Longbows (and even more so at level 6 when he can gain a third point in Longbows), it's generally more effective to hold Khalid back in the second row and let him use his bow instead of running into melee. Instead, you can send Jaheira forward into melee - she's not quite as good at melee damage as Khalid (although with good armour she's amply tough enough to survive out in front and keep the enemies occupied), while Khalid is much better than her at ranged damage, so the overall balance is more damage done for no increased risk. Also, using Khalid as an archer largely prevents him from having a morale failure and running away (for which he is well known when used in melee). (And when he has three points in Longbows, he's then a really excellent archer - I strongly recommend this to any player who hasn't yet tried it.)
    Grond0 said:

    ... you really only need one good tank to take the lead and provide a focus for all enemy attacks ...

    That's true, but I don't recommend it to new players, and even as an experienced player I don't usually do it that way. It's easier and safer to have two characters who can stand up in close combat.
    A great choice is Viconia for the second tank. You can give her the gauntlets of ogre power and she can quaff potions of fortitude and buff up w/ cleric spells. The only downside is she gets less use out fortitude pots (as opposed to saving them for Sharteel), but it's worth it - the high dex and magic resistance is sublime. Alternatively you can use Branwen for less micromanagement - but Vicky is clearly the superior choice, and one of the best tanks in the game if you know what you're doing.
  • GallowglassGallowglass Member Posts: 3,356
    Stormvessel said:

    A great choice is Viconia for the second tank ... one of the best tanks in the game if you know what you're doing.

    One of my favourite BG1ee moments was when Viconia beat Aec'Letec to a pulp single-handedly (while the others were busy slaughtering his minions) ... so yes, she can indeed be a good tank if you know what you're doing.

    The latter is the key, though. I do not recommend trying to use Viconia as a tank in one's first run, even though I know it can work well for an experienced player. In a first run, a player might well never even find the special equipment which is vital for Viconia to go tanking effectively (and anyway that's quite a lot further into the game than @OldGoldDigger has so far reached).

    To start with, just use each character in a fairly natural and obvious way, and they'll work fine. After completing the game once or twice, then is the time to start exploring some of the less-obvious possibilities ... some of which will work well, and some of which will not, and finding out what can work is part of the fun.
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