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Xp question - BG2 EE !

kaitenkaiten Member Posts: 19
in Baldur's Gate II: Enhanced Edition
Hey guys ! I just finished BG1 EE 2 days ago and I am about to start the second game but first I wanted to ask something about the xp in BG2. I've been looking at BGwiki for the the xp caps for the original BG2 + the expansion and the EE version and I was wondering how does the xp cap for the EE version works . Is there any limitation while you play the main game / the Amn/ or is it going to up 8 million if there are enough quests and enemies to do and kill ? Cause in the first game the expansion xp cap was added for the main game too and you actually cannot do the expansion after you finish the main game because the game just ends so by the end of it I was max level / and my companions were too/ and the final battle was not really that hard probably because of my level. So I really I want to avoid that for the second game and the xp difference between the main game and the expansion is just insane here - it is no longer just 1 or 2 levels and I am really worried that I may overlevel. And also is the Bhaal expansion added the same way the sword coast was / I hope not/ - I mean can you do it before the main game and also the side quests that come with it - are they doable while you do the main game or are they inaccessable until you finish it ?
The reason while I ask here instead of google-ing it is because I really want to avoid spoilers for the story of the game so if you can help me without mentioning any names or places would be great !
Thanks in advance !

Comments

  • ThacoBellThacoBell Member Posts: 12,235
    BG2's cap for the EE is the same as ToB. The old cap was only a thing before ToB came out.
  • Grond0Grond0 Member Posts: 7,459
    edited March 2018
    BG1 works a bit differently to BG2. As you say in BG1 the expansion was fully integrated into the original, but in BG2 ToB is a separate expansion and you can't get into that until you finish SoA.

    A couple of points of warning though:
    - assuming you have ToB installed (which almost everyone will have these days) the XP cap of 8m applies to SoA as well as ToB. It is thus possible to overlevel and make the latter parts of SoA easier than originally intended. However, that's less of a problem if you run a full party - the danger is more when playing solo or with a small party.
    - there is one major location added with ToB that is accessible from SoA as well. Unless you know exactly what you're doing it would be very difficult to complete that while in SoA. However, if you did complete it that would have a significant impact on your levels even with a full party.
  • Humanoid_TaifunHumanoid_Taifun Member Posts: 1,063
    The bulk of the expansion's content comes after you're done with the main game, but the new dungeon (à la Durlag's Tower, except bigger and with fewer shapeshifters) can be done before you finish Shadows of Amn. Like the rest of the expansion, the tower throws XP at you like it's nothing.
    But even without doing that tower, I usually end up with 3.5-4 million XP at the end of SoA, which is definitely on a completely different level of power than 2.95 million XP, especially since you start getting special abilities at 3 million XP, and those are game changers.

    If you are worried about balance, I suggest you take a look at CD's tweakpack, which offers to temporarily cap your XP until you've finished SoA.
  • kaitenkaiten Member Posts: 19
    edited March 2018
    @Grond0 thanks ! That was exactly what I was looking for. I am playing the EE version so I have the ToB installed and I just noticed that there is actually a separate icon in the starting menu just for the expansion. I am going to play with full party for sure but I may and probably will do most of the quests ^^ /and visit every single place/ like I did in BG1 EE / did a 100% run/. I guess I'll just use the Keeper if numbers get out of hand and just keep it around the old SoA cap. About that major location - I think I've seen people mention it in so many places - thank god just the name ! I guess I'll just avoid it if I see it in game before ToB.
    @Humanoid_Taifun thanks too ! I also thought about it - using a mod that may limit the xp for the main game to the original cap. I wonder though - why that cap has been removed in first place if ToB is a separate expansion.
  • Humanoid_TaifunHumanoid_Taifun Member Posts: 1,063
    @kaiten Actually, I think the easiest thing you could do is simply stop leveling the characters up once they reach 3 million XP. That way you don't lose any combat strength that you might need in Throne of Bhaal, and you don't need to deal with any third party programs either.
  • UnderstandMouseMagicUnderstandMouseMagic Member Posts: 2,147

    I don't think you need to worry too much about becoming OP if you run with a full party. BG2 is much more extensive and with a lot more variety of enemies.

    Plus, I think enemies reflect the level you are at.
    Higher level, more and tougher opponents.

    Also, you can always adjust the difficulty level/slider. If you find yourself not being challlenged, up the difficulty.
    BG/BG2 is a game where the different difficulty levels really affect gameplay, you simply can't breeze past enemies on higher levels and so you have to learn about tactics, equipment, magic ect.

    I think I read it that "core difficulty" in the new versions is actually "easy difficulty" on the originals (hopefully somebody will confirm or deny this). If that's the case, think about what difficulty level you are playing with.
  • Grond0Grond0 Member Posts: 7,459
    UnderstandMouseMagic said:

    I think I read it that "core difficulty" in the new versions is actually "easy difficulty" on the originals (hopefully somebody will confirm or deny this). If that's the case, think about what difficulty level you are playing with.

    The difficulty levels in the EE are essentially identical to vanilla. The only changes are:
    - the introduction of story mode as a super-easy category
    - the introduction of Legacy of Bhaal mode as a super-difficult category
    - the renaming of what was called 'Novice' to 'Easy' difficulty
  • sarevok57sarevok57 Member Posts: 6,002
    also note, that if you do absolutely everything possible in SoA ( except watcher's keep which you should save for ToB ) you will hit around 3.6-3.8 million XP per character at the end of SoA,

    but even with that said, ToB XP cap is 8 million, and even if you hit 3.8 million XP in SoA you might still be hard pressed to hit even 7 million XP per character in ToB

    it is impossible to hit the ToB XP cap without exploits or grinding of some sort, you will never "naturally" hit that XP cap
  • Humanoid_TaifunHumanoid_Taifun Member Posts: 1,063
    >it is impossible to hit the ToB XP cap without exploits or grinding of some sort, you will never "naturally" hit that XP cap

    Assuming you play with a full party of course.
  • kaitenkaiten Member Posts: 19
    Hmm - interesting! So basically I can do what Humanoid_Taifun said - just keep the xp that I gain above 3 million but not leveling up and then just use that xp to level up in ToB / I hope I can keep it /
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