Should I get this?

Batdragon123

Hi Everyone,

Just wandering if I should get Siege of Dragonspear (may sound like a funny thing to post in the siege of dragonspear forum I know!). Its just by all accounts i've heard mixed things. Just wandering what its really like?

Also is the Shaman class worth a try?

Dev6

Hey Batdragon,

As a recent fan of the BG saga, I'd say you should definitely get SoD. Some older fans seem to disagree, and I can understand their points, but to me SoD is a great addition to the saga. It has a couple interesting NPCs (specially M'Khiin, I can't stress this enough: M'Khiin is awesome), epic fights, a good "villain", an interesting story, etc.
But again, that's just my opinion. Why don't you try it out for yourself and see if you enjoy it?

I haven't tried making a Shaman character, but M'Khiin is one and I used her all through the game. It's certainly an interesting class to play around with. (And oh how I would love to have it in IWD)

ThacoBell

I'm an old school fan who also really enjoys SoD. Be aware that it is a little different though. The fights are reminiscient of Icewind Dale, with larger groups of more varied enemies. The enemy AI is also better, so it a skooch tougher than BG1. Also, yes, M'khiin is awesome.

ZaramMaldovar

Absolutely, SOD is a great addition to the story of Baldur's Gate. What it lacks in amount of NPCs it makes up for in character interaction, unique dungeons, monster diversity and an amazing story.

Batdragon123

Okay, thanks guys, I'll look into it.

Artona

SoD is okay, kinda like ToB of BG1 in sense of linearity, but not as obsessed with combat. Main quest may not the BG1 or BG2 quality, but that drop is easily lost with all the goodies that come with expansion. I don't regret buying it.

the_sextein

I am an old school fan and I like it. It has it's ups and downs but overall I would rather include it in my run of the games than leave it out. In fact, I look forward to it while I am playing the first game. The sound, story, characters and gameplay are all good and the graphics see a nice boost compared to the first game that you are importing from. With the difficulty cranked it can be a nice challenge and an overall rewarding experience.

UnderstandMouseMagic

I don't like it at all. I wish I did.

That said, you should definitely play it at least once or twice.
And by buying it support the makers which is important IMO.

It's not a waste of time by any means even if you decide it's not for you in the long run. You will enjoy it.

Batdragon123

Ok thanks again guys, I'll look into getting it.

Wesboi

SoD is the ginger hair kid of the series.

DreadKhan

Wesboi said:

SoD is the ginger hair kid of the series.

Come now, we all know thats IWD2.

the_sextein

Wesboi said:

SoD is the ginger hair kid of the series.

Yes, unique and awesome.

Foxter

You should buy but after the next patch comes up. Until then you should wait.

I played the initial SoD release (non patched) until the coalition camp and I found it OK story wise.

However the bugs from that version stopped me from continuing the game. I will play it again after all the remaining bugs are solved.

Ludwig_II

These kinds of questions make me really sad. Because it reminds me that I had the same question in my mind when SOD came out. After looking forward for its release for so long, all that ado and discussions around it nearly made me not buy it. And I can only imagine how many people it affected to change their minds about buying it.

However, after buying and playing it twice, I realized how ridiculously unreliable the people on internet can be. Making a huge fuss out of nothing (maybe excluding bugs). I can't comment about the bugs in the initial release as I bought it after 2.3 version came out.

But, as it is for a long while now, it is very stable. I've finished it twice without facing any bugs at all and experiencing great improvements. Story has its ups and downs, but it's definitely a unique one and it was such an awesome experience playing it both times. I will play it again soon.

ZeshinX

Definitely worth the money. It doesn't compare in overall "feel" (meaning you know this was never originally part of the saga as you play through this portion), but that's to be expected.

It has good moments, bad moments, excellent moments and truly terrible moments, but overall and most importantly, it's fun to play.

I don't care much for the new NPCs. Not because they're bad (they aren't), I just didn't care for them much in that "Meh" kind of way (I'd rather have continued to use un-voiced original BG party members).

I have one massive negative about SoD though. The end-game boss encounter (the climax, not the epilogue). It was mechanically atrociously implemented. One, single, enormous rules oversight ruined the entire encounter for me (from a mechanical stance). Story-line wise I absolutely loved it.

Durenas

I played it through and found no significant bugs. There were minor things that were annoying(for instance missing out on one of glint's relatives because doing his quest caused him to disappear suddenly), but nothing too major.

Jacob

Well @Batdragon123 , *I* think so. But I'm very biased.

BrutaleBent

@Batdragon123 Recently bought it, and just finished it - was great! Definetly a worthy addition to a great series!

READ AT YOUR OWN PERIL! THERE BE SPOILERS/FORESHADOWING!

If anything though, there's gonna be some things missing/unresolved when you get into BG2:EE, as, afaik, any continuity, mainly characters and events, are not added to have any effect/resolving in BG2.