Rings of protection ruin game play
Loldrup
Member Posts: 291
Rings of protection IMHO have *negative* influence on BG game play:
First of, they add passive protection. No interesting game mechanic there.
Second, there are plenty of these things on the main route of BG, so there's no push towards having to hunt them down in exotic places. They thus don't instigate any 'drive' in you.
Third, they make BG easier. BG is plenty easy as it is, so that simply translates into: more boring.
Fourth, and worst: they make magic armor mostly pointless. Which is sad because magic armors *do* reside in exotic places which thus really could instigate you to go on adventure to hunt them down. If they were actually useful, that is. Which they aren't, because of protection rings...
Therefore, I have added protection rings and necklaces on my long list of banned things in BG.
Furthermore, I have decided that I won't sell these items when I find them. I will go to Beregost and simply dump them in the streets! Muahahaha!
(okay, that's not so evil.. but still!)
First of, they add passive protection. No interesting game mechanic there.
Second, there are plenty of these things on the main route of BG, so there's no push towards having to hunt them down in exotic places. They thus don't instigate any 'drive' in you.
Third, they make BG easier. BG is plenty easy as it is, so that simply translates into: more boring.
Fourth, and worst: they make magic armor mostly pointless. Which is sad because magic armors *do* reside in exotic places which thus really could instigate you to go on adventure to hunt them down. If they were actually useful, that is. Which they aren't, because of protection rings...
Therefore, I have added protection rings and necklaces on my long list of banned things in BG.
Furthermore, I have decided that I won't sell these items when I find them. I will go to Beregost and simply dump them in the streets! Muahahaha!
(okay, that's not so evil.. but still!)
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Comments
and besides durlag's tower and BG the city, there are only 3 rings of protection +1 ( and I suppose a cloak of protection +1 ) and they aren't really in your face easy to get, 2 of them require a bit of searching, ( although the one ring can be found with the tab button in the right spot)
also remember, this game came back out in 1998, back when the devs themselves found the game to be difficult back in the day, so the rings were something to help out a little bit
I do agree though that they can make magic armor useless ( since there is +2 versions of the protection items, and only +1 usually of armor items ) but again, the ring of protection +2 isn't easily found and it can be possible to miss the cloak of protection +2, one main advantage though of magical armors is that they are way lighter than none magical ones, this was a big boon in vanilla bg1 when there wasn't strength requirements to wear armor ( so even though viconia was allowed to wear full plate mail, she would no doubt be wearing the full plate +1 because she wouldn't be able to move in full plate mail )
so I think they are fair, but to each their own I suppose
I also suspect the problem is just that you've played the game too much. You think the game's too easy because you've already beaten it multiple times, and you think Rings of Protection are too plentiful because you know where all of them are.
New players generally find the game at least moderately challenging, and miss a lot of the enchanted items you've grown to take for granted.
Of course, I haven't played PnP in decades so I'm sure this is all wrong, will derail the thread, cause a massive argument, get exasperated mods involved, and will trigger outsiders to invoke racism or homophobia or anti-Trumpism or the Pope or the Sultan of Swing.
(And yes, I am trying to shift my alignment to chaotic, thank you.)
My list?
The Stupifier
Wands
Gauntlets of dex
Gauntlets of OP
Ankheg plate
Everything Drizzt has
These are much more powerful, and change the game more than the rings +1
And, of course, Tomes, but that kind of goes without saying.
Except the tomes, it feels like they should be in SoA, not BG, if at all.
(This narrow applicability is also why the Staff Mace is on the list. Yes, it's technically the highest-damage one-hander in the game, but it's not really an upgrade to Varsacona for Fighter-types, especially considering how late you get it. But it's a big upgrade for Clerics, Cleric multis, and backstabbing thieves. And especially to Alora, whose luck bonus gets applied twice to brutal effect.)
The answer isn’t to nerf that next Stupefier, or take magical rings or tomes out of the game. That may temporarily solve the problem for them, but what about all the other players who love those things. What about all the players who are new to the game and delight in each find of such items. Items that make them feel a little more powerful and better able to handle that monster who had kicked their butt last time.
I would argue that the developers got it right the first time. There is a reason it is still such a beloved game, so many years after it was made. Very few games can make that claim.
I say lay down those nerf hammers gentlemen and pick up those modding tools! Tweak the game to your hearts content. Turn it upside down and inside out. Most importantly have fun! At the same time, think twice about campaigning to nerf content that others enjoy.
I like @Loldrup ‘s idea of making a list of things that he will no longer use in his own game. An excellent idea for adjusting gameplay to suit his own play style. After all, just because items are in the game doesn’t mean that anyone is forcing you to use them.
Even better if you choose to drag them into town and toss them in the streets. Have you seen the state of those poor beggars? Someone really needs to organize a clothing drive.
What you play is the game and what you plan is the meta. I'd wager a large part of the reason you just don't hear it associated with Baldur's Gate very much is that it wasn't really in common usage in the late '90s and early '00s. (Even with something like Magic: the Gathering, where guys can't go two minutes without mentioning the meta. I used to play in the late '90s and I don't think I ever heard anyone use the word.)
-There aren't so many of them till lategame except if you go to Durlag's,
-Most people will still rather a +1(or more) armor, losing 1 to saving throws, but gaining some passive effect or a lot of weight. And yes, weight is important unless you have Dorn or Minsc around because they can carry a lot.
-They take a ring slot. Not a big deal if you are playing a party of 6, but with a more restricted party there are a lot of good rings already.
Some items are much more gamebreaking. The ankheg plate in Nashkel, Varscona, Ashideena, the dexterity gloves, and even that free Dagger+2, in terms of early availability, the Dagger of Venom, the light Crossbow of speed, the ogre gloves, the cursed hill giant strength belt, Albruin and I probably forget some, are all empowering your character beyond what it should be at that point.
The dagger of venom and light crossbow of speed also require a substantial financial investment. Most people probably don't buy them until at least the mid-game just because they don't wanna spend their whole fortune on a single trinket. And even when they do buy it I'm not sure they're "Empowering your character beyond what it should be at that point". The money's there by design. You've gotta spend it on something. I'm sure it occurred to the developers that the player would notice the shiniest trinkets in the weapons store and start saving up.
There's even an unavoidable NPC who'll direct you to the Thunderhammer Smithy. It's not like you're using your knowledge as a veteran player to find something that most players would miss in their first go.
I don't like items that simply change a stat to a fixed value, a +x makes the character underneath much more important. I get that 2nd edition (especially in strength) is a game where only the extremes matter, which does not make +x very easy. I consider this a flaw in the underlying system.