Sneak Attack in BG

toolarg

Ive bien trying to replicate the success reported in this thread https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/37339/the-wonders-of-sneak-attack/p1 but cant seem to do it. I have a level 6 assassin in BG 1, my idea was that, since sneak Attack doesnt require stealth, he could be the party thief, open locks and all that. Just for a little variation in play. But boy, he cant hit ANYTHING and monsters are smart enough to turn around and target the fragile guy poking at them. Has anyone tried sneak Attack? Pointers? Tips?. Also typing this in my phone was painful.

Grond0

That thread was about Icewind Dale, which had a specific option to replace the 2nd edition backstabs with the 3rd edition alternative of sneak attacks. That option is not included in unmodded BG. Have you been using a mod that provides this?

JuliusBorisov

Actually, it's available in BG.

Just open the baldur.lua file and find this line:

SetPrivateProfileString('Game Options','3E Thief Sneak Attack','0')

Change 0 to 1, and you get the 3E Thief Sneak Attack in Baldur's Gate.

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semiticgoddess

Yup. Enemy thieves don't have the AI to detect which direction anyone is facing, so the game doesn't check to see if they're behind their target; it just checks to see if they're invisible. The game makes different checks to see if the player or enemy can make a backstab, depending on whether 2E or 3E backstabbing is enabled:

Player, 2E-style backstab:
1. Must be behind the target.
2. Must be invisible.

Player, 3E-style backstab:
1. Must be behind the target.
1. Does not need to be invisible.

Enemy, 2E-style backstab:
1. Does not need to be behind the target.
2. Must be invisible.

Enemy, 3E-style backstab:
1. Does not need to be behind the target.
2. Does not need to be invisible.

So when 3E backstabbing is enabled, enemies land backstabs with every hit.

toolarg

Eh, should've guessed that not many people knew about the option of sneak attack in BG. BTW you can also use the "hidden gameplay options" mod to add it to the game options menu, much more elegant
I guess I'll just ask in the IWDEE forum section.

UnderstandMouseMagic

semiticgod said:

Yup. Enemy thieves don't have the AI to detect which direction anyone is facing, so the game doesn't check to see if they're behind their target; it just checks to see if they're invisible. The game makes different checks to see if the player or enemy can make a backstab, depending on whether 2E or 3E backstabbing is enabled:

Player, 2E-style backstab:
1. Must be behind the target.
2. Must be invisible.

Player, 3E-style backstab:
1. Must be behind the target.
1. Does not need to be invisible.

Enemy, 2E-style backstab:
1. Does not need to be behind the target.
2. Must be invisible.

Enemy, 3E-style backstab:
1. Does not need to be behind the target.
2. Does not need to be invisible.

So when 3E backstabbing is enabled, enemies land backstabs with every hit.

That must be a nightmare when playing with SCS early in game.

toolarg

UnderstandMouseMagic said:

That must be a nightmare when playing with SCS early in game.

Playing pure vanilla, Shank almost killed a fighter of mine in the tutorial.

Abi_Dalzim

I never let Shank/Carbos into melee range anymore, but that's less because I'm worried about them hitting me than I am about my weapon possibly breaking hitting them back. Same reason I resort to ranged attacks/a quarterstaff to kill the rats in Reevor's storehouse.

AstroBryGuy

Invisibility (or attacking from shadows) provides a +4 bonus to hit. If you aren't hiding before trying to line up a 3E-style sneak attack, you're not getting that bonus. That could explain the lack of successful hits.

toolarg

AstroBryGuy said:

Invisibility (or attacking from shadows) provides a +4 bonus to hit. If you aren't hiding before trying to line up a 3E-style sneak attack, you're not getting that bonus. That could explain the lack of successful hits.

Heh, true that, although I enabled Sneak Attacks to avoid all the hassle of MS&HiS. Guess I'll just go back to the trusty Bounty Hunter

Abi_Dalzim

I've never used the Sneak Attack option, but I always advocate Fighter-Thief as an option. That'll help your Thac0, and give you more hit points and a helmet, so you can take a hit or two in return.

Mantis37

Bigg's tweaks let party thieves facestab in vanilla as well, but I haven't seen that option for the EEs.

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Raduziel

I gave up on the Sneak Attack in IWDEE, I think that my thief never landed one.

Backstabs, in another hand, are way more reliable.

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_Luke_

Raduziel said:

I gave up on the Sneak Attack in IWDEE, I think that my thief never landed one.

Backstabs, in another hand, are way more reliable.

What do you mean exactly? I think that Sneak Attack makes thieves more versatile (due to the fact that you don't need to be invisible to cause extra damage.....)