Here's a shop trick/exploit: you can buy items without removing them from the shop inventory if you just skip the "done" button and click your own inventory button instead. Or map, or character sheet or whatever. This way I got two fighter-thieves and Imoen wearing the shadow master armor at the same time, and both fighter-thieves wielding the long sword with cold damage. Use it in a shop that you can steal from and you have a limitless supply of everything you can get your hands on once. Works in BGEE 2.0, haven't tried other versions. Edit to add: PS make sure you do hit the "done" button after selling stuff you want to buy/steal back, or it will be lost forever.
I think this trick was fixed in a later 2.X version
Still works in both BGEE and BG2EE.
In relation to this distinction though I wondered @semiticgod if it would be helpful to split your list between tricks that still work in the EE and not?
These are the tricks that are only possible in earlier versions of the game.
Spider Gnome Trick/Shocking Grasp Trick, documented here Author: @CrevsDaak, @Saros, @semiticgod (flasher part only) Brief Description:
By switching to the spider form from Polymorph Self and then using a Shocking Grasp spell put in a Minor Sequencer, any mage can set his or her attacks per round to 4 using any weapon, as Shocking Grasp removes the spider's natural weapon, but does not return the mage to natural form. It works especially well with cleric/mages and Jan Jan's Flasher Master Bruiser Mates, as it cures one of their primary weaknesses: low APR. The high APR actually allows Jan to reliably stun-lock Kangaxx.
As of one of the v2.x updates, the spider gnome trick no longer works in BG2:EE.
Song Stacking Author: Unknown Brief Description:
Bard songs stack with themselves. By casting multiple Mislead spells and having each Mislead clone sing a song, you can stack the bonuses for the entire party. This works best with Skalds and the Enhanced Bard Song.
One of the EE updates removed this trick, as the songs no longer stack (though songs of two different types may still stack).
Icewind Dale Haste Trick, documented here Author: @semiticgod Brief Description:
In the original Icewind Dale, before the Enhanced Edition, haste effects actually reduced the character's round time from 6 seconds to 3 seconds. This means that hasted characters in the original game not only attack twice as many times every 6 seconds; they also activate bard songs twice as often (granting double the bonuses each round, or allowing you to sing two different songs within the same round) and even cast two spells in the same round.
Outside of Icewind Dale, in the BG saga, haste still speeds up speed timers, allowing blind thieves and Shadowdancers to backstab twice per round. But this can also prevent backstabbing by speeding up the time it takes for a thief to become visible again.
Righteous Wrath of the Faithful Trick Author: @semiticgod Brief Description:
In the original Icewind Dale, before the Enhanced Edition, Righteous Wrath of the Faithful stacks with itself, granting +1 APR to characters with the same alignment as the caster. Combined with haste effects (only possible by casting Haste and RWF in the right order, or using Oils of Speed), and any party with a uniform alignment can attain 10 APR with large damage bonuses. If the party is composed entirely of gnomish cleric/illusionists, they can also attain immunity to RWF's crippling fatigue penalties by each donning a copy of the Helm of the Trusted Defender sold in Kuldahar. Level 15 druids are also immune to fatigue by default.
Casting Restoration on a Simulacrum clone will bump it up to the original caster's level. In the case of sorcerers, it will even give the clone the same spell slots as the caster.
In EE, clones are immune to restoration and this trick no longer works. They are also, however, immune to level drain.
Killing a character under the effects of Shapechange, resting, and then resurrecting the character will preserve the shapeshifting abilities from Shapechange. Thus, any character who can cast Shapechange at least once can retain the abilities permanently, except for the main character, who cannot be killed without ending the game. An early way to cast Shapechange is to use the one-time-only Limited Wish Shapechange option. You can also use CTRL-R to preserve the effects, though this requires using the console.
Note that you can backstab using the Iron Golem's attack, which deals 4d10 base damage.
This trick no longer works in the current version of the Enhanced Edition. There is, however, a complicated workaround that works in some other versions of EE (see list of EE tricks).
Potion Swap Glitch, documented here Author: Unknown Brief Description:
You can use any item by right-clicking a potion in the inventory, clicking "Drink Potion," and then quickly switching the potion out for another item. This would allow a mage to use a Potion of Invulnerability or a cleric to use the Dispel Magic ability of Carsomyr.
If you use this glitch on a gem, you can set the gem's count number from 1 to 0. If you do it once more, the gem's count number will underflow and become 65,535. Selling the stack of gems will net tens of thousands at minimum, and can be done quickly and indefinitely. In BG1 and IWD, this can also be done with potions by holding the potion in the inventory screen before the character attempts to drink it. In IWD2, this can also be done to duplicate Oils of Fiery Burning, or any scroll that can be cast on the ground and not just on a living target.
This no longer works in the Enhanced Editions.
Slayer Trick, documented here Author: @Arunsun Brief Description:
Casting Mirror Image can block the final 1500 magic damage that triggers 44 seconds after entering Slayer form. After surviving that damage, you can maintain Slayer form indefinitely. You can also use the spider gnome trick to remove the Slayer's natural weapon using a Shocking Grasp Minor Sequencer or scroll, or casting Minute Meteors via an EE-exclusive robe. You will then be able to attack using any weapon while still in Slayer form (though you will no longer have the Slayer's immunities to various disabling effects).
One of the 2.x updates removed this trick.
Hotkey Trick Author: Unknown Brief Description:
Nahal's Reckless Dweomer can be cast by any mage, sorcerer, or bard by mapping it to a hotkey. The hotkey will never deplete spell slots; NRD can be cast an infinite number of times, ignoring aura, as if the caster was under the effects of Improved Alacrity. Wild surges are still possible, so the Wild Mage is still best at this due to the existence of the Chaos Shield spells.
This also works for Chain Contingency, but can also be cast by any druid or cleric as well.
This is no longer possible in EE, as those spells cannot be mapped to hotkeys.
Chaos Shields can stack if they are combined in a Spell Sequencer/Trigger or (Chain) Contingency.
This is no longer possible in EE.
Rod of Terror Trick Author: Unknown Brief Description:
Using the Rod of Terror has a chance of permanently decreasing the user's Charisma by 1, which is fatal when CHA reaches 0. But by wearing the Ring of Human Influence, one can avoid this instant death effect until the character's Charisma underflows up to 25. This 25 Charisma lasts even when the ring is removed.
Testing suggests this is no longer possible in EE.
When you attack Rejiek Hidesman in his home, you get about 29,000 XP when he delivers a few brief lines of dialogue. If you surrounded him with party members before you do this, preventing him from moving, and then repeatedly click him after the dialogue ends but before he can go downstairs, you can get that 29,000 XP over and over again without limit. If you click him too soon, you won't get the XP from the previous dialogue.
You can duplicate items using a shop or a bag of holding. First, you need at least two (or possibly three) copies of the item you want to duplicate. Sell one copy to a shop, exit out of the shop, and then go back to the shop's menu. Purchase the item back, but instead of clicking "Done," click the inventory button on the left side of the screen, twice. You will then return to the game screen, at which point you can re-enter the shop.
If you do this repeatedly, you can create an unlimited number of copies of the item, as skipping the "Done" button prevents the shop from deleting its own supply. Thus, you can always buy another copy. Using a bag of holding works the same way, but costs nothing.
Further testing has found that, if you are performing the trick via a Bag of Holding at least, you do not actually need two copies of the item in question. A single copy is sufficient.
This trick was introduced in one of the v2.x patches, but removed in v2.5
Infinite Spell Immunity/Nahal's Reckless Dweomer, documented here Author: @kjeron and @BrightL1ghts Brief Description:
By assigning Spell Immunity or Nahal's Reckless Dweomer to a hotkey and double-clicking the hotkey, the sub-spell menu will remain open and you can continue casting the spell indefinitely.
I am running the most recent version of BG2:EE (EDIT: version 2.3; no longer possible in v2.5) and while my game is heavily modded, both methods of item duplication are fully functional.
I've also divided the tricks into separate posts, because putting them all in one comment apparently exceeds the character limit. As the list grows, I'll provide links at the bottom of each one for easier access.
I've tried to use the Wand of Lightning and @Arctodus' Potion of Power trick to boost HP and survive the 1500 damage from the Slayer change, but it seems the effect falls short. The Slayer change sets your maximum HP to 100, and the WoL trick only gives +120 HP per Potion of Power. It's possible to get over 1500 HP this way, but not before the Slayer change kills you (you only have 44 seconds, or about 7 rounds).
It may be possible, however, to combine this with the quick-save trick to drink 12 Potions of Power (which you could obtain using the item duplication trick) in a single round. But last I checked, it was not possible to save while in Slayer form.
If it is possible to save during Slayer form, these four tricks would allow any character except a Wizard Slayer to stay in Slayer form indefinitely.
@edsterz: By the way, check it out. If you remove all but one of a stack of Rogue Stones every time you remove them from the bag of holding, then put them back in and repeat the process, the numbers grow exponentially. This took like two minutes, and I only started with two Rogue Stones.
If it is possible to save during Slayer form, these four tricks would allow any character except a Wizard Slayer to stay in Slayer form indefinitely.
Even when the game prohibits a manual save it normally allows an autosave, e.g. as a result of a party area transition. That might be a way round the issue.
these are all vanilla tricks - i don't play ee much so if they don't work, sorry.
any item that can be used that will return an item to you can be duped with an image. for example, the book of infinite spells. you can have a clone turn the page. kill the clone, it'll drop another book. this can be done infinitely, as far as i can tell. many summoned swords will also return as an item after their return - killing the clone for this droppable addition will dupe it. this coincides with using the wand of lightning with any of the summoning figurines. once used, 6(5 limit summon) creatures will be summoned and 6 returned to you. the cloak that creates darts, for example, can be used by images. then the darts can be harvested from the dead clone.
the next trick is related. fighters with the shield icon in their bar will protect creatures through walls. so during any 1v1 (druid grove or mazzy fight), having fighters defend will result in ranged weapons going through walls to attack anyone attacking them. this can be used on summons. anywhere there is a door, simply use the wand of lightning with any summon scroll or figurine. it will summon 5 creatures on the other side of the door, as long as the last wand tick is visible to caster. by using the defend icon on those creatures, even across the map, fighters and rangers will defend those animals.
speaking of wands. the wand of the apprenti will choose 1 element when a living target is chosen. however, the wand will shoot all 3 elements when an object is chosen, including via wand of lightning. causing 6 fireballs, 6 frosts and 6 lightnings to shoot. this is useful because dropping an armor and targeting 5 offscreen or behind walls creatures and ending the wand tick on the dropped armor will result in 5 fireballs and lightnings anywhere on the map. careful that, 5 frosts can do serious damage to incidental party members.
one of the most useful tricks is to create a creature named 'travin'. when talked to, except during his quest, it will say 'no valid responses'. this is, surprisingly, clickable from any other conversation afterward. so create creature travin and talk to it. then if someone forces dialog with options to answer, if you don't like any of the answers, you can literally break free by scrolling above the conversation to travin's response, and it will end dialog.
the letter 't' can be used to talk to other people in multiplayer. this can be used to break out of movie mode. for example, pressing t will allow the menu to appear. by clicking the 'reform party' button, all menus will be activated. all enemies will not have AI in movie mode - they will simply stand there waiting for the move to end. to end movie mode, incur an autosave and reload that autosave. any reloaded autosave will end movie mode.
innocents can be killed by traps set by images. enemies killed in this way will not be awarded XP. similarly, innocents killed in this way will not incur a reputation loss. this must occur after the images disappear. nor does it count as an act of hostility.
maze makes people untargetable. for example, if you are leaving with the rift device and maze the main character, they will not be killed. the same with having an image maze the main character in the dream sequence to sacrifice an attribute. if the maze hits after dialog and before the stat drain, the stat drain will never hit. same with the final trials, mazing imoen and then selecting the door to kill her will result in her appearing afterwards safe and sound. people mazed during the drow transformation will not be transformed. the game doesn't check if they look like drow.
you can script in a quicksave, with on hotkey, save game and this will allow you to save midway through encounters or in areas where it is impossible to save otherwise. IF HotKey(N) THEN RESPONSE #100 SaveGame(1) END
feeblemind breaks people's scripts. first, on enemies. dragons will lose most of their dangerous spells along with liches and others. however, it will also break friendly scripts. andorian, a minotaur is scripted to die who can be feebleminded to salvation. yoshimo is another npc that can have the geas broken by a feeblemind. apparently, he still won't follow into TOB because the game really did not anticipate that happening.
if you have two computers, you can save imoen. if the host of the game is not controlling imoen, the other player can leave when the dungeon is left. the movie will play 'the tower slopes upward' and if the player controlling imoen leaves, her character will be reassigned control to the host and teleported to host. as a result, a clone imoen will fight irenicus. the original imoen will stay - along with her belt. her belt makes her a bad tank in SOA because at 1 hp she will do her 'im not dying here' and leave party. in TOB, however, the script is replaced, and she will be able to tank 8 fire giants easily. or you can, as mentioned, feeblemind her and she will be a great tank.
doors can't close or lock when people stand in them. limited usefulness, but the harper compound can be propped open. similarly, a summons can prop the door(s) open in the illithid encounter in the underdark.
irenicus is not immune to disintegrate. when he greets you at the asylum, break out of dialog with travin and disintegrate him for 26k xp. then he will show up again to tell you 'sleep', a clone can cast it for another 26k. at the inmate fight, he can be killed yet again. at the tree of life he can be killed by poison. and at the final fight after the slayer form, he will become human and be killable again by a clone with disintegrate. there's a disintegrate spell that ironically jon uses in cutscenes that can be keepered in.
using beneficial spells on enemies. scroll of protection from magic will stop magic. this is very useful against liches and other mages, by casting this they will be unable to successfully cast any spell of any kind. other strategies like casting strength on fire giants will set their strength to 18 from 25. or casting magic resistance will set the mr to 25, by casting it on drow it will lower their resistance from 100 to 25.
druids and polymorphs can have their creature weapon dispelled. this allows a druid to have good APR, str and con. after a dispel, they can equip any item. bears will shoot sling bullets out of the rectal orifice. the animation is very glitchy, so the bear will turn 180 and swipe the air, squeezing a 'bullet' out at enemies before turning another 180 after to make eye contact with the enemy. this is additive with masteries, by taking sling mastery, jaheira will have 5 attacks with the sling of everard. the bear forms moves slowly but can be fixed with an amulet of cheetah speed. this works with polymorph as well, with mage thieves able to use any item to get crossbows into the 5 apr category. without dispel, druids can drink a scroll of minute meteors or shocking grasp. later in tob, they can drink a shakti figurine.
gems can be drunk for infinite gold. since they do not disappear after 0, drinking a gem once will reduce its quantity to 0. drinking again will wrap its vale to 65535. this gem stack will sell for 3 million gold. not that gold can't be consoled in or hacked in with keeper. useful for multiplayer if you're joining, however.
Charmed and summoned creatures can sometimes be made to follow the party through area transitions by having them attack a party member from a slight distance. When they walk up to that party member you need to zone and the creature will stand next to the party in the new area, still allied. It is a bit quirky in that it does not always work perfectly but when it does it can be very valuable.
Spell Trap can be used to gain an infinite number of spells per day by using level 9 effects against the caster. A Project Image clone can cast level 7 and level 9 spells to restore the original caster's spells. For a Simulacrum clone to be able to do the same thing, it would have to be level 18, which means only a level 35 mage (impossible without removing the XP cap) could do the same using Simulacrum instead of Project Image. Black Blade of Disaster also strikes as a level 9 spell for each hit.
More on the spell trap trick: I don't see it mentioned, but it works with Energy Blades (both from Cleric and Mage) and Melf's Meteors as well. These are very economical choices compares to having your clones throw single target spells into Spell Trap. Their high APR also allows for fast, mid-combat recharging.
As for mitigating damage from Black Black, Melf's or Energy blade, Stoneskin will eat the physical damage component while Spell Trap eats the magical damage and spell effects. Recharging Stoneskin is recommended. Since Spell Trap eats a full spell regardless of remaining spell lvl, it should be possible to absorb 3 spells at lvl 9 and 1 spell at lvl 4 (for Stoneskin), even though there would only be 3 spell lvls remaining.
Without XP cap removed, I think the caster lvl for Simulacrum is bugged (lower than the spell description 60%), so they never get access to HLAs. (Really, this seems like a bug) However, there is a glitch where if your caster is lvl drained (only tested with -4 lvl drained) from lvl 31 to 27, your Simulacrum will have one HLA spell.
A Simulacrum with Energy Blades + Stoneskin + a few scrolls of Spell Trap allows it to recharge the mage and vice versa, completing the loop.
There's might be ways to exploit this using a Wild Mage at lower levels, but so far more testing is needed.
IF HotKey(N) THEN RESPONSE #100 SaveGame(1) END
Did anyone test if this still works in BG2EE? If yes, this could be the 4th piece for the perma slayer trick.
It seems to be possible to Spell Trap attacks from Ghoul Touch (lvl 2) and Chill Touch (lvl 1) back to lvl 2 and 1 spells. For a wild mage, this means using Nahl's to create a clone to continuously attack the caster for upwards of 2 APR (hasted) worth of spells per round. The offhand attack with Touch spells doesn't seem to proc Spell Trap.
One could have a bunch party members doing this or just a Blade with offensive spin, DW, haste and Belm / Kundane "touching" the wild mage for an insane of amounts of Nahl's. The ignore spell limit per round on Nahl's makes this all the sweeter.
I think I've only used the Mislead backstab and the quick-save to reset aura tricks out of all of these. I'm tempted to do some Wand of Lightning abuse, but have never gone through with it.
Actually, "Send the Mislead clone to a far corner of the map to beat True Sight" probably counts as its own trick, and I've done that plenty of times.
@semiticgod A note about the Hotkey trick for Nahal's. You moved it into the non-EE trick section, but I still see a NRD hotkey under Gameplay -> Assign Keys -> Mage Spells. And as far as I can tell in BG2EE v2.3.67.3 on Steam, the trick to obtain infinite NRD still works for Wild Mages only with a slight variation:
Ensure you have at least 2 NDR memorised. Simply press your NDR hotkey twice and the spell picker remains up until you select another char.
If someone else can confirm it (for both BGEE and BG2EE), you could move it back into the EE section.
@profanitywarning@edsterz: Testing in my EET install has found that the item duplication trick is possible even if you only have a single copy of the item in question. You can duplicate anything that can fit in a Bag of Holding, including quest items. Unique items can in fact be duplicated. It's possible to duplicate anything, from the Ring of Gaxx to the Robe of Vecna, as soon as you get the item and a Bag of Holding or similar container.
I've just added the Reform Party trick. Enemies ignore neutral critters and you can turn any party member neutral simply by kicking them out of the party. Until they rejoin the party, they'll be completely invisible to all enemies and immune to party-friendly spells like Horrid Wilting and Confusion. Done at the correct time, you can completely negate dangerous spells and keep party members safe when they would otherwise be vulnerable.
Just don't try to bail out a character who's at 1 HP and is about to die to a Magic Missile; that'll just get the character killed while outside the party, making it impossible to raise them.
If you don't mind the micromanagement, you can also bring more than five party members to a single location and get them to take turns fighting in the party against a common enemy. It's very situational, but it would give you some extra options in certain fights like Drasus, Sarevok, Firkraag, Balthazar, and many other smaller encounters.
Just tested on 2,5 beta and switching weapons still allows you to bypass set to 1 APR, to let you swing more than once in a round. This is very good for halberd users in BG1 allowing to swing once with Chelsey's crusher, then switching for another regular APR halberd for a second swing (or more) in the same round.
Works for both regular warriors, tested with a ranger with 5/2 base APR with halberd, and using a blade with either oil of speed or offensive spin for 2 APR.
Tried with removal of cosmetic swings and auto pause on round end. Also by counting ticks between attacks and it works.
I wonder in which patch they removed a blade's fake ability to combine oil of speed with offensive spin? Don't remember reading that
Just tested on 2,5 beta and switching weapons still allows you to bypass set to 1 APR, to let you swing more than once in a round. This is very good for halberd users in BG1 allowing to swing once with Chelsey's crusher, then switching for another regular APR halberd for a second swing (or more) in the same round.
Presumably the same would work for anything with 1 APR, like a Bard with Carsomyr switching into Firetooth/Belm for another 3 attacks?
@Skatan: Could this be done multiple times per round? Halberds are sluggish, with a speed factor of 9 or 10, and 1 APR with a halberd would probably take 3 seconds to make an attack, limiting APR to 2. But if you had a faster weapon like a dagger which struck earlier on, wouldn't it be possible to land 3 attacks per round, if not more?
It's a pretty niche advantage. The example with Chelsey's crusher is where you have a weapon with only 1 APR and then leverage the remainder of the round to fit in more attacks with something with a higher APR (like darts). However, there's the problem @semiticgod raised that there may not be time to fit in extra attacks if the first weapon is slow. Moreover, fighter characters will normally be better off using their higher APR with their preferred weapon than they would be using this trick to get an extra attack with a non-preferred weapon. If you're prepared to do the micro-management then something like a bard can get a slight combat advantage, but it's not going to be a game changer.
If you're prepared to do the micro-management then something like a bard can get a slight combat advantage, but it's not going to be a game changer.
Yeah, generally I'd just be thinking of whacking something with Carsomyr/SotM for the dispel, then switching over to speed weapons to actually do some damage.
@Grond0 and @semiticgod: indeed this is limited, but as said it's optimal for halberd users in BG1 and for UAI Carsomyr in BG2. It's situational and niche and far, far from the best trick there is, but still, it's kinda exploity thing to do that adds some boons.
But anyways, just for fun, I created a swashie in TOB and gave her dual weild, Belm and Kundane, and Carsomyr +6 on switch. When Illasera came I used my first attack with Carsy, dispelling her mirror images, then in the same round I got of 3 more attacks (her base is 4 with Kund/Belm), so I got of all 4 APR even though using Carso as the first attack.
I did put a pip in twohand weapon style as well.
Doing the same with a blade with UAI and offensive spin doesn't make you gain so much since, just as semiticgod said, the attack animation is so slow even with a pip in twohanded swords that you can get 2 APR with Carso but that takes up the full round and you won't have time to switch for some dual weild attacking. I can recreate the 1 APR with Carso and 3 APR with Belm though. I've tried to get 4 APRs after switching but didn't manage.
Anyways the Carsomyr dispel on hit and then switching for regular attacks is not so bad actually.
Btw, I haven't actually done testing like this before, but no matter what I tried I could not get my char to get of more than 5 attacks in one round, neither with improved haste (8 APR) nor with whirlwind attacks. Interesting.
Thinking about the item swapping trick, I didn't think of it at the time, but if you have a stack of darts or something you should also be able to swap out their weapon with a single dart in each slot (or some launchers they don't have ammo for). They'll be reduced to attacking with their fists.
I have added @histamiini as the creator of the Spell Trigger Trick, in which you use a spell trigger or sequencer with area-effect spells on the original caster to avoid breaking invisibility.
Comments
In relation to this distinction though I wondered @semiticgod if it would be helpful to split your list between tricks that still work in the EE and not?
Spider Gnome Trick/Shocking Grasp Trick, documented here
Author: @CrevsDaak, @Saros, @semiticgod (flasher part only)
Brief Description:
By switching to the spider form from Polymorph Self and then using a Shocking Grasp spell put in a Minor Sequencer, any mage can set his or her attacks per round to 4 using any weapon, as Shocking Grasp removes the spider's natural weapon, but does not return the mage to natural form. It works especially well with cleric/mages and Jan Jan's Flasher Master Bruiser Mates, as it cures one of their primary weaknesses: low APR. The high APR actually allows Jan to reliably stun-lock Kangaxx.
As of one of the v2.x updates, the spider gnome trick no longer works in BG2:EE.
Song Stacking
Author: Unknown
Brief Description:
Bard songs stack with themselves. By casting multiple Mislead spells and having each Mislead clone sing a song, you can stack the bonuses for the entire party. This works best with Skalds and the Enhanced Bard Song.
One of the EE updates removed this trick, as the songs no longer stack (though songs of two different types may still stack).
Icewind Dale Haste Trick, documented here
Author: @semiticgod
Brief Description:
In the original Icewind Dale, before the Enhanced Edition, haste effects actually reduced the character's round time from 6 seconds to 3 seconds. This means that hasted characters in the original game not only attack twice as many times every 6 seconds; they also activate bard songs twice as often (granting double the bonuses each round, or allowing you to sing two different songs within the same round) and even cast two spells in the same round.
Outside of Icewind Dale, in the BG saga, haste still speeds up speed timers, allowing blind thieves and Shadowdancers to backstab twice per round. But this can also prevent backstabbing by speeding up the time it takes for a thief to become visible again.
Righteous Wrath of the Faithful Trick
Author: @semiticgod
Brief Description:
In the original Icewind Dale, before the Enhanced Edition, Righteous Wrath of the Faithful stacks with itself, granting +1 APR to characters with the same alignment as the caster. Combined with haste effects (only possible by casting Haste and RWF in the right order, or using Oils of Speed), and any party with a uniform alignment can attain 10 APR with large damage bonuses. If the party is composed entirely of gnomish cleric/illusionists, they can also attain immunity to RWF's crippling fatigue penalties by each donning a copy of the Helm of the Trusted Defender sold in Kuldahar. Level 15 druids are also immune to fatigue by default.
Restoring Clones
Author: Unknown
Brief Description:
Casting Restoration on a Simulacrum clone will bump it up to the original caster's level. In the case of sorcerers, it will even give the clone the same spell slots as the caster.
In EE, clones are immune to restoration and this trick no longer works. They are also, however, immune to level drain.
Shapechange Trick
Author: Unknown
Brief Description:
Killing a character under the effects of Shapechange, resting, and then resurrecting the character will preserve the shapeshifting abilities from Shapechange. Thus, any character who can cast Shapechange at least once can retain the abilities permanently, except for the main character, who cannot be killed without ending the game. An early way to cast Shapechange is to use the one-time-only Limited Wish Shapechange option. You can also use CTRL-R to preserve the effects, though this requires using the console.
Note that you can backstab using the Iron Golem's attack, which deals 4d10 base damage.
This trick no longer works in the current version of the Enhanced Edition. There is, however, a complicated workaround that works in some other versions of EE (see list of EE tricks).
Potion Swap Glitch, documented here
Author: Unknown
Brief Description:
You can use any item by right-clicking a potion in the inventory, clicking "Drink Potion," and then quickly switching the potion out for another item. This would allow a mage to use a Potion of Invulnerability or a cleric to use the Dispel Magic ability of Carsomyr.
If you use this glitch on a gem, you can set the gem's count number from 1 to 0. If you do it once more, the gem's count number will underflow and become 65,535. Selling the stack of gems will net tens of thousands at minimum, and can be done quickly and indefinitely. In BG1 and IWD, this can also be done with potions by holding the potion in the inventory screen before the character attempts to drink it. In IWD2, this can also be done to duplicate Oils of Fiery Burning, or any scroll that can be cast on the ground and not just on a living target.
This no longer works in the Enhanced Editions.
Slayer Trick, documented here
Author: @Arunsun
Brief Description:
Casting Mirror Image can block the final 1500 magic damage that triggers 44 seconds after entering Slayer form. After surviving that damage, you can maintain Slayer form indefinitely. You can also use the spider gnome trick to remove the Slayer's natural weapon using a Shocking Grasp Minor Sequencer or scroll, or casting Minute Meteors via an EE-exclusive robe. You will then be able to attack using any weapon while still in Slayer form (though you will no longer have the Slayer's immunities to various disabling effects).
One of the 2.x updates removed this trick.
Hotkey Trick
Author: Unknown
Brief Description:
Nahal's Reckless Dweomer can be cast by any mage, sorcerer, or bard by mapping it to a hotkey. The hotkey will never deplete spell slots; NRD can be cast an infinite number of times, ignoring aura, as if the caster was under the effects of Improved Alacrity. Wild surges are still possible, so the Wild Mage is still best at this due to the existence of the Chaos Shield spells.
This also works for Chain Contingency, but can also be cast by any druid or cleric as well.
This is no longer possible in EE, as those spells cannot be mapped to hotkeys.
Chaos Shield Trick
Author: Unknown
Brief Description:
Chaos Shields can stack if they are combined in a Spell Sequencer/Trigger or (Chain) Contingency.
This is no longer possible in EE.
Rod of Terror Trick
Author: Unknown
Brief Description:
Using the Rod of Terror has a chance of permanently decreasing the user's Charisma by 1, which is fatal when CHA reaches 0. But by wearing the Ring of Human Influence, one can avoid this instant death effect until the character's Charisma underflows up to 25. This 25 Charisma lasts even when the ring is removed.
Testing suggests this is no longer possible in EE.
Rejiek Hidesman Trick
Author: Unknown
Brief Description:
When you attack Rejiek Hidesman in his home, you get about 29,000 XP when he delivers a few brief lines of dialogue. If you surrounded him with party members before you do this, preventing him from moving, and then repeatedly click him after the dialogue ends but before he can go downstairs, you can get that 29,000 XP over and over again without limit. If you click him too soon, you won't get the XP from the previous dialogue.
I believe this is no longer possible in EE.
Item Duplication, documented here and here
Author: @profanitywarning and @edsterz
Brief Description:
You can duplicate items using a shop or a bag of holding. First, you need at least two (or possibly three) copies of the item you want to duplicate. Sell one copy to a shop, exit out of the shop, and then go back to the shop's menu. Purchase the item back, but instead of clicking "Done," click the inventory button on the left side of the screen, twice. You will then return to the game screen, at which point you can re-enter the shop.
If you do this repeatedly, you can create an unlimited number of copies of the item, as skipping the "Done" button prevents the shop from deleting its own supply. Thus, you can always buy another copy. Using a bag of holding works the same way, but costs nothing.
Further testing has found that, if you are performing the trick via a Bag of Holding at least, you do not actually need two copies of the item in question. A single copy is sufficient.
This trick was introduced in one of the v2.x patches, but removed in v2.5
Infinite Spell Immunity/Nahal's Reckless Dweomer, documented here
Author: @kjeron and @BrightL1ghts
Brief Description:
By assigning Spell Immunity or Nahal's Reckless Dweomer to a hotkey and double-clicking the hotkey, the sub-spell menu will remain open and you can continue casting the spell indefinitely.
I am running the most recent version of BG2:EE (EDIT: version 2.3; no longer possible in v2.5) and while my game is heavily modded, both methods of item duplication are fully functional.
I've also divided the tricks into separate posts, because putting them all in one comment apparently exceeds the character limit. As the list grows, I'll provide links at the bottom of each one for easier access.
I've tried to use the Wand of Lightning and @Arctodus' Potion of Power trick to boost HP and survive the 1500 damage from the Slayer change, but it seems the effect falls short. The Slayer change sets your maximum HP to 100, and the WoL trick only gives +120 HP per Potion of Power. It's possible to get over 1500 HP this way, but not before the Slayer change kills you (you only have 44 seconds, or about 7 rounds).
It may be possible, however, to combine this with the quick-save trick to drink 12 Potions of Power (which you could obtain using the item duplication trick) in a single round. But last I checked, it was not possible to save while in Slayer form.
If it is possible to save during Slayer form, these four tricks would allow any character except a Wizard Slayer to stay in Slayer form indefinitely.
If you remove all but one of a stack of Rogue Stones every time you remove them from the bag of holding, then put them back in and repeat the process, the numbers grow exponentially. This took like two minutes, and I only started with two Rogue Stones.
About the slayer potion trick. Does Imp Alacrity work on usable items? If so, maybe it's possible to cast it going into slayer?
any item that can be used that will return an item to you can be duped with an image. for example, the book of infinite spells. you can have a clone turn the page. kill the clone, it'll drop another book. this can be done infinitely, as far as i can tell. many summoned swords will also return as an item after their return - killing the clone for this droppable addition will dupe it. this coincides with using the wand of lightning with any of the summoning figurines. once used, 6(5 limit summon) creatures will be summoned and 6 returned to you. the cloak that creates darts, for example, can be used by images. then the darts can be harvested from the dead clone.
the next trick is related. fighters with the shield icon in their bar will protect creatures through walls. so during any 1v1 (druid grove or mazzy fight), having fighters defend will result in ranged weapons going through walls to attack anyone attacking them. this can be used on summons. anywhere there is a door, simply use the wand of lightning with any summon scroll or figurine. it will summon 5 creatures on the other side of the door, as long as the last wand tick is visible to caster. by using the defend icon on those creatures, even across the map, fighters and rangers will defend those animals.
speaking of wands. the wand of the apprenti will choose 1 element when a living target is chosen. however, the wand will shoot all 3 elements when an object is chosen, including via wand of lightning. causing 6 fireballs, 6 frosts and 6 lightnings to shoot. this is useful because dropping an armor and targeting 5 offscreen or behind walls creatures and ending the wand tick on the dropped armor will result in 5 fireballs and lightnings anywhere on the map. careful that, 5 frosts can do serious damage to incidental party members.
one of the most useful tricks is to create a creature named 'travin'. when talked to, except during his quest, it will say 'no valid responses'. this is, surprisingly, clickable from any other conversation afterward. so create creature travin and talk to it. then if someone forces dialog with options to answer, if you don't like any of the answers, you can literally break free by scrolling above the conversation to travin's response, and it will end dialog.
the letter 't' can be used to talk to other people in multiplayer. this can be used to break out of movie mode. for example, pressing t will allow the menu to appear. by clicking the 'reform party' button, all menus will be activated. all enemies will not have AI in movie mode - they will simply stand there waiting for the move to end. to end movie mode, incur an autosave and reload that autosave. any reloaded autosave will end movie mode.
innocents can be killed by traps set by images. enemies killed in this way will not be awarded XP. similarly, innocents killed in this way will not incur a reputation loss. this must occur after the images disappear. nor does it count as an act of hostility.
maze makes people untargetable. for example, if you are leaving with the rift device and maze the main character, they will not be killed. the same with having an image maze the main character in the dream sequence to sacrifice an attribute. if the maze hits after dialog and before the stat drain, the stat drain will never hit. same with the final trials, mazing imoen and then selecting the door to kill her will result in her appearing afterwards safe and sound. people mazed during the drow transformation will not be transformed. the game doesn't check if they look like drow.
you can script in a quicksave, with on hotkey, save game and this will allow you to save midway through encounters or in areas where it is impossible to save otherwise.
IF
HotKey(N)
THEN
RESPONSE #100
SaveGame(1)
END
feeblemind breaks people's scripts. first, on enemies. dragons will lose most of their dangerous spells along with liches and others. however, it will also break friendly scripts. andorian, a minotaur is scripted to die who can be feebleminded to salvation. yoshimo is another npc that can have the geas broken by a feeblemind. apparently, he still won't follow into TOB because the game really did not anticipate that happening.
if you have two computers, you can save imoen. if the host of the game is not controlling imoen, the other player can leave when the dungeon is left. the movie will play 'the tower slopes upward' and if the player controlling imoen leaves, her character will be reassigned control to the host and teleported to host. as a result, a clone imoen will fight irenicus. the original imoen will stay - along with her belt. her belt makes her a bad tank in SOA because at 1 hp she will do her 'im not dying here' and leave party. in TOB, however, the script is replaced, and she will be able to tank 8 fire giants easily. or you can, as mentioned, feeblemind her and she will be a great tank.
doors can't close or lock when people stand in them. limited usefulness, but the harper compound can be propped open. similarly, a summons can prop the door(s) open in the illithid encounter in the underdark.
irenicus is not immune to disintegrate. when he greets you at the asylum, break out of dialog with travin and disintegrate him for 26k xp. then he will show up again to tell you 'sleep', a clone can cast it for another 26k. at the inmate fight, he can be killed yet again. at the tree of life he can be killed by poison. and at the final fight after the slayer form, he will become human and be killable again by a clone with disintegrate. there's a disintegrate spell that ironically jon uses in cutscenes that can be keepered in.
using beneficial spells on enemies. scroll of protection from magic will stop magic. this is very useful against liches and other mages, by casting this they will be unable to successfully cast any spell of any kind. other strategies like casting strength on fire giants will set their strength to 18 from 25. or casting magic resistance will set the mr to 25, by casting it on drow it will lower their resistance from 100 to 25.
druids and polymorphs can have their creature weapon dispelled. this allows a druid to have good APR, str and con. after a dispel, they can equip any item. bears will shoot sling bullets out of the rectal orifice. the animation is very glitchy, so the bear will turn 180 and swipe the air, squeezing a 'bullet' out at enemies before turning another 180 after to make eye contact with the enemy. this is additive with masteries, by taking sling mastery, jaheira will have 5 attacks with the sling of everard. the bear forms moves slowly but can be fixed with an amulet of cheetah speed. this works with polymorph as well, with mage thieves able to use any item to get crossbows into the 5 apr category. without dispel, druids can drink a scroll of minute meteors or shocking grasp. later in tob, they can drink a shakti figurine.
gems can be drunk for infinite gold. since they do not disappear after 0, drinking a gem once will reduce its quantity to 0. drinking again will wrap its vale to 65535. this gem stack will sell for 3 million gold. not that gold can't be consoled in or hacked in with keeper. useful for multiplayer if you're joining, however.
More on the spell trap trick: I don't see it mentioned, but it works with Energy Blades (both from Cleric and Mage) and Melf's Meteors as well. These are very economical choices compares to having your clones throw single target spells into Spell Trap. Their high APR also allows for fast, mid-combat recharging.
As for mitigating damage from Black Black, Melf's or Energy blade, Stoneskin will eat the physical damage component while Spell Trap eats the magical damage and spell effects. Recharging Stoneskin is recommended. Since Spell Trap eats a full spell regardless of remaining spell lvl, it should be possible to absorb 3 spells at lvl 9 and 1 spell at lvl 4 (for Stoneskin), even though there would only be 3 spell lvls remaining.
Without XP cap removed, I think the caster lvl for Simulacrum is bugged (lower than the spell description 60%), so they never get access to HLAs. (Really, this seems like a bug) However, there is a glitch where if your caster is lvl drained (only tested with -4 lvl drained) from lvl 31 to 27, your Simulacrum will have one HLA spell.
A Simulacrum with Energy Blades + Stoneskin + a few scrolls of Spell Trap allows it to recharge the mage and vice versa, completing the loop.
There's might be ways to exploit this using a Wild Mage at lower levels, but so far more testing is needed.
HotKey(N)
THEN
RESPONSE #100
SaveGame(1)
END
Did anyone test if this still works in BG2EE? If yes, this could be the 4th piece for the perma slayer trick.
One could have a bunch party members doing this or just a Blade with offensive spin, DW, haste and Belm / Kundane "touching" the wild mage for an insane of amounts of Nahl's. The ignore spell limit per round on Nahl's makes this all the sweeter.
Actually, "Send the Mislead clone to a far corner of the map to beat True Sight" probably counts as its own trick, and I've done that plenty of times.
Ensure you have at least 2 NDR memorised. Simply press your NDR hotkey twice and the spell picker remains up until you select another char.
If someone else can confirm it (for both BGEE and BG2EE), you could move it back into the EE section.
Just don't try to bail out a character who's at 1 HP and is about to die to a Magic Missile; that'll just get the character killed while outside the party, making it impossible to raise them.
If you don't mind the micromanagement, you can also bring more than five party members to a single location and get them to take turns fighting in the party against a common enemy. It's very situational, but it would give you some extra options in certain fights like Drasus, Sarevok, Firkraag, Balthazar, and many other smaller encounters.
Works for both regular warriors, tested with a ranger with 5/2 base APR with halberd, and using a blade with either oil of speed or offensive spin for 2 APR.
Tried with removal of cosmetic swings and auto pause on round end. Also by counting ticks between attacks and it works.
But anyways, just for fun, I created a swashie in TOB and gave her dual weild, Belm and Kundane, and Carsomyr +6 on switch. When Illasera came I used my first attack with Carsy, dispelling her mirror images, then in the same round I got of 3 more attacks (her base is 4 with Kund/Belm), so I got of all 4 APR even though using Carso as the first attack.
I did put a pip in twohand weapon style as well.
Doing the same with a blade with UAI and offensive spin doesn't make you gain so much since, just as semiticgod said, the attack animation is so slow even with a pip in twohanded swords that you can get 2 APR with Carso but that takes up the full round and you won't have time to switch for some dual weild attacking. I can recreate the 1 APR with Carso and 3 APR with Belm though. I've tried to get 4 APRs after switching but didn't manage.
Anyways the Carsomyr dispel on hit and then switching for regular attacks is not so bad actually.
Btw, I haven't actually done testing like this before, but no matter what I tried I could not get my char to get of more than 5 attacks in one round, neither with improved haste (8 APR) nor with whirlwind attacks. Interesting.