@Doxy You should start Heart of Winter after you complete the main game. In one of the newer versions of the mod, I made it so after you beat the final boss you immediately go to Heart of Winter.
@defik I'm glad to hear you're enjoying the mod! How far have you gotten?
Baldur's Gate 1 has my own mod High Power Baldur's Gate. It makes both the enemies and the party significantly more powerful, giving them new abilities. It's not as difficult as this mod, but it can still be quite challenging at times due to the new abilities of certain enemies.
Baldur's Gate 2 has the mod Improved Anvil. I haven't played it much, but you could look at the readme here.
Over the past month, I've worked on a big update for Improved Heart of Fury Mode. And here it is!
Version 4.0 adds a big new component to the mod: Class and Kit Enhancements. This component extends the level cap to 50, and it overhauls classes and kits, giving many of them abilities scaling all the way up to level 50.
For example, a Dragon Disciple now deals way more damage with their breath weapon and gets really good AC bonuses. And a really high-level dragon disciple has the ability to turn into a dragon.
Some other kits:
(Now would you like to play a Beast Master?)
(Isn't that what you'd expect a 50th-level jester to be able to do?)
There are various other interesting changes as well. Familiars have been empowered (they're now better than Throne of Bhaal familiars), with way better stats and some new abilities.
All familiars have at worst 75% physical damage resistance (to make them less likely to die without significantly increasing the HP they grant the summoner) and 0 THAC0.
OMG. Just want to say this looks like an awesome MOD and would try out in a hot second if I had the PC version. And I do not think I am competent enough to transfer the Android files to PC convert, modify apply MODs, and export back to my android phone.
But man, this looks dope.
Since you got me thinking about it, I wanted to share my thoughts on what party I would use to handle the hardest content.
I would definitely bring over the companion mod as well as some other minor mods along with.
Holvir - would undoubtedly go with Inquisitor kit due to the excellent utility of dispel magic
Korin - Archer since it does the highest consistent ranged damage in the game with little to no micromanagement needed
Teri - Dualed Assassin to fighter (level to dual based on xp rate of increase and party power). The perfect ally to have sneak behind enemy lines for high-value takedowns
Nella - Though is a bard naturally, would have to opt for fighter/mage (keeper to Kensai)
Severn - Dualed Mageslayer to Druid (Would pick up Mageslayer revision mod)
Charname would be thief/cleric (keeper to swashbuckler) I would use shield instead of twf to stack AC
Though only has three casters via mage, druid, and cleric; the Inquisitor and Mageslayer kits should help greatly
Honorable mentions:
Avenger
Sorcerer
Although the two above make a powerful team when paired as they complement each other perfectly, for this party, I prefer using kensai/mage and swash/cleric for their additional military prowess.
Ranger/Cleric
Already have a bunch of on-the-ground fighters and wanted gameplay benefits that did not yet have.
Assassin (Single class)
If 3E Sneak Attack is enabled, may sneak attack instead of backstab for increased damage:
Level 1-2: +1d6
Level 3-5: +2d6
Level 6-8: +3d6
Improves by +1d6 every 3 levels, up to +11d6 at level 30
If 3E Sneak Attack is enabled, may deal crippling strikes upon successful sneak attacks. Crippling strikes last for 1 turn and have the following effects:
Level 3-5: -1 to target’s hit and damage rolls
Level 6-8: -2 to target’s hit and damage rolls
Level 9-11: -3 to target’s hit and damage rolls
Improves by -1 every 3 levels, up to -10 at level 30
Its hard to ignore the damage boosts of Single class Assassin as well as the potential value of the debuff. I went with Assassin dual to fighter because I do not intend to use the 3E Sneak attack version. Fighter also gets the multiple attacks per round while assassin is only stuck with 1.
I was thinking about Beastmaster and obviously it wants to stay pure (or keeper cleric/ranger, I guess).
My concern though, is that though you modified attack and damage ratings (which is great), the summons health/AC/resistances are still standard. Beastmasters summons will not have the staying power to make use of the Beastmaster's aura in a significant way.
I like your Beastmaster modification very much for the standard vanilla game, though (would need to be tempered a bit, however).
I was thinking about Beastmaster and obviously it wants to stay pure (or keeper cleric/ranger, I guess).
My concern though, is that though you modified attack and damage ratings (which is great), the summons health/AC/resistances are still standard.
I know; that's why I made the damage/thac0 boosts granted to the animals enormous. The animals won't be powerful enough to win fights on their own (if they were, the Beastmaster would be overpowered), but they should still be helpful in certain situations. In my recent testing playthrough, I was playing with Korin as a beastmaster (single-class) and the summoning limit removed (there's a component in the mod that does that). Being able to summon an army of bears and wolves was not overpowered, but it was useful sometimes.
I know; that's why I made the damage/thac0 boosts granted to the animals enormous. The animals won't be powerful enough to win fights on their own (if they were, the Beastmaster would be overpowered), but they should still be helpful in certain situations. In my recent testing playthrough, I was playing with Korin as a beastmaster (single-class) and the summoning limit removed (there's a component in the mod that does that). Being able to summon an army of bears and wolves was not overpowered, but it was useful sometimes.
Wow, quick answer btw.
Hmmm, so large fodder army that can actually do damage but dies quick under normal circumstances. Would definitely allow some extra time to get more spells off before the enemy runs into your actual party.
This was a strategy I always implemented in BG2 against the red dragon, for example. Gave me some extra rounds to debuff the dragon.
- Do you have a readme or something that goes through all the class/kit changes you made?
- Do all abilities that scale based on level now scale to 50? Such as monk's armor class and deflect missiles
- Do monk fists go past +4 and if so how high? What about monk's magical resistance?
Either way, it seems that monk damage plummets if not using weapons (since weapono damage properties can get so high) so I am curious if you made monk modifications. This is also due to the fact they cannot be hasted.
It does seem to me that monks can make great tanks though. (assuming you can stack AC higher than what you can with heavy armor and shields)
Would be nice to give monks back the utility of using clerical scrolls and/or wands
In short, just curious how monks perform in your Mod
I just released Version 4.0.1. More importantly, I attached a readme to the first post which goes into detail about all the changes made by Class and Kit Enhancements. If you'd like to look at the changes to classes and kits before you download the mod, take a look at the readme.
@Blacksoft Monks in particular are improved a lot by Class and Kit Enhancements. Here's the description of the Monk class:
MONK: Monks are warriors who pursue perfection through contemplation as well as action. They are versatile fighters, especially skilled in combat without weapons or armor. Though Monks cannot cast spells, they have a unique magic of their own: they channel a subtle energy, called ki, which allows them to perform amazing feats. The Monk's best known feat is their ability to stun an opponent with an unarmed blow.
CLASS FEATURES:
- May not wear any armor.
- May only use weapons available to the Thief class (except two-handed).
- May only become Proficient (one slot) in any weapon class.
- May only become Proficient (one slot) in Single-Weapon Style and may not put slots into any other style.
- Moves 2 points faster than other characters. Movement rate further improves by 1 every 5 levels.
- May make 1 unarmed attack per round. An additional 1/2 attack per round is gained every 3 levels. Damage dealt by unarmed attacks increases with level as follows:
Level 1-4: 1d8
Level 5-9: 1d10
Level 10-14: 1d12
Level 15+: 1d20
- At level 5, unarmed attacks are treated as a +1 magical weapon and gain a +1 bonus to hit and damage rolls. This enchantment improves by another +1 every 5 levels thereafter, up to +10 at level 50.
- Receives a +2 bonus to Saving Throws vs. Spell.
- Deflect Missiles: The monk can deflect the first missile that would hit them each round. Deflected missiles will deal no missile damage to the monk, though any other damage that would be dealt by the missile will still hurt the monk.
- Starts with an Armor Class of 9 at 1st level and gains an additional +1 bonus every 2 levels.
- May use the Stunning Blow ability once per day. Gains one use at level 1 and an additional use every 4 levels thereafter.
STUNNING BLOW: All successful attacks within the next round force the victim to save vs. Paralysis or be stunned. The character's Wisdom score determines the difficulty of the saving throw:
- 5th level: Becomes immune to all diseases and cannot be slowed.
- 6th level: Gains the Evasion ability.
EVASION: When a Monk is hit by a spell that can be evaded (Fireball, Lightning Bolt, etc.), the Monk is allowed a Save vs. Breath to completely avoid the effects. If the Saving Throw is failed, the spell works normally, including a save for half damage if the spell allows for it. A helpless Monk (e.g. held, stunned, or asleep) cannot use Evasion.
- 7th level: May use the Lay On Hands ability on <PRO_HIMHER>self to heal 2 Hit Points per level.
- 8th level: Gains a -1 bonus to Speed Factor.
- 9th level: Gains a +1 bonus to all Saving Throws and becomes immune to charm.
- 11th level: Becomes immune to poison.
- 12th level: Gains another -1 bonus to Speed Factor.
- 13th level: May use the Quivering Palm ability once per day. Gains an additional use at levels 25, 35 and 45.
QUIVERING PALM: The next successful attack forces the target to save vs. Death or die. The character's Wisdom score determines the difficulty of the saving throw as with Stunning Blow.
- 14th level: Gains 3% Magic Resistance per level (starting with 42% at 14th level).
- 20th level: Becomes immune to non-magical weapons.
- 25th level: Becomes permanently under the effect of Improved Haste while unarmed.
- Alignment restricted to lawful.
- Hit Die: d8
Okay, I read through the readme. You made really awesome changes. Particularly, the fighter and fighter kit changes. I like that you took away the archer's spellbook since it would have been completely too awesome to have that on a character that will have one of the highest Thaco and damage
I wanted to ask about Inquisitor. Since other Paladins get dispel magic now as well as better spell progression and higher spells, the Inquisitor which is missing his spellbook seems to be getting the short end of the stick now. Getting breach on its own does not seem like it would offset the powerhouse of a really good spellbook. Am I mistaken in this?
I wanted to ask about Inquisitor. Since other Paladins get dispel magic now as well as better spell progression and higher spells, the Inquisitor which is missing his spellbook seems to be getting the short end of the stick now. Getting breach on its own does not seem like it would offset the powerhouse of a really good spellbook. Am I mistaken in this?
The reason for Breach is that some spellcasters in the mod cast Spell Shield. In this mod, Spell Shield does not protect against things like Breach or Spellstrike; rather, it grants immunity to Dispel Magic for the duration. Breach goes right through Spell Shield.
Hey I had an idea for a Party trying to take advantage of Beastmaster. Wouldn't the Shamanic dance and the spirit animals summoned be boosted by the Beastmaster?
If so, I can see a Beastmaster, Shaman, vanilla bard, Jester, skald, and Blackguard (with its aura of despair) being a pretty unique playstyle as the attempt is to stack AOE debuffs and party buffs for an overwhelming wave of awesome summons.
Would this be even remotely playable? What other possible features could one add?
Hey I had an idea for a Party trying to take advantage of Beastmaster. Wouldn't the Shamanic dance and the spirit animals summoned be boosted by the Beastmaster?
They will be, as a matter of fact. However, the elemental spirits summoned by a higher-level Shaman will not be.
You may be better off using a Totemic Druid rather than a Shaman for this strategy. The Totemic Druid spirits also count as animals and are much more powerful than the Shaman animal spirits.
I don't know if I'm just too old for this computer stuff, but I'm having a really tough time installing your mod. Every time I run the exe file, I get the error Failure("Not a game directory") and it tells me to put the program in the Infinity Engine game directory. I have tried placing it in just about every folder in my Icewind Dale Enhanced Edition file in my steam directory, including make sure it's in the same place as the icewind.exe and the chitin.key file. Can anyone help me figure out where to put this thing to install it? It looks interesting and I'd love to play.
I think I've found the solution. Try putting the folder "BetterHOF" and the program "setup-BetterHOF.exe" in the same place as icewind.exe and chitin.key.
It's possible your problem was that you put the folder "Improved-Heart-Of-Fury-Mode-master" in the same place as icewind.exe and chitin.key, but didn't take out the contents of that folder.
@Shifra That party looks like it should be fine. The Kensai might be a bit weak early on though: not having armor or missile weapons hurts, and they don't get great hit/damage bonuses until later on. There are ways to make a Kensai really powerful in this mod, but it might not be the best choice for a first playthrough.
Comments
Potion of healing is like 5k now.
Do you have 1 reputation? That could cause the prices to be super-high.
Killing the commoners under the control of the High Baptist will lower your reputation.
Ahhhh! That was it. Thanks!
Baldur's Gate 1 has my own mod High Power Baldur's Gate. It makes both the enemies and the party significantly more powerful, giving them new abilities. It's not as difficult as this mod, but it can still be quite challenging at times due to the new abilities of certain enemies.
Baldur's Gate 2 has the mod Improved Anvil. I haven't played it much, but you could look at the readme here.
Version 4.0 adds a big new component to the mod: Class and Kit Enhancements. This component extends the level cap to 50, and it overhauls classes and kits, giving many of them abilities scaling all the way up to level 50.
For example, a Dragon Disciple now deals way more damage with their breath weapon and gets really good AC bonuses. And a really high-level dragon disciple has the ability to turn into a dragon.
Some other kits:
(Now would you like to play a Beast Master?)
(Isn't that what you'd expect a 50th-level jester to be able to do?)
There are various other interesting changes as well. Familiars have been empowered (they're now better than Throne of Bhaal familiars), with way better stats and some new abilities.
All familiars have at worst 75% physical damage resistance (to make them less likely to die without significantly increasing the HP they grant the summoner) and 0 THAC0.
You can download Version 4.0 here!
But man, this looks dope.
Since you got me thinking about it, I wanted to share my thoughts on what party I would use to handle the hardest content.
I would definitely bring over the companion mod as well as some other minor mods along with.
Holvir - would undoubtedly go with Inquisitor kit due to the excellent utility of dispel magic
Korin - Archer since it does the highest consistent ranged damage in the game with little to no micromanagement needed
Teri - Dualed Assassin to fighter (level to dual based on xp rate of increase and party power). The perfect ally to have sneak behind enemy lines for high-value takedowns
Nella - Though is a bard naturally, would have to opt for fighter/mage (keeper to Kensai)
Severn - Dualed Mageslayer to Druid (Would pick up Mageslayer revision mod)
Charname would be thief/cleric (keeper to swashbuckler) I would use shield instead of twf to stack AC
Though only has three casters via mage, druid, and cleric; the Inquisitor and Mageslayer kits should help greatly
Honorable mentions:
Avenger
Sorcerer
Although the two above make a powerful team when paired as they complement each other perfectly, for this party, I prefer using kensai/mage and swash/cleric for their additional military prowess.
Ranger/Cleric
Already have a bunch of on-the-ground fighters and wanted gameplay benefits that did not yet have.
Assassin (Single class)
If 3E Sneak Attack is enabled, may sneak attack instead of backstab for increased damage:
Level 1-2: +1d6
Level 3-5: +2d6
Level 6-8: +3d6
Improves by +1d6 every 3 levels, up to +11d6 at level 30
If 3E Sneak Attack is enabled, may deal crippling strikes upon successful sneak attacks. Crippling strikes last for 1 turn and have the following effects:
Level 3-5: -1 to target’s hit and damage rolls
Level 6-8: -2 to target’s hit and damage rolls
Level 9-11: -3 to target’s hit and damage rolls
Improves by -1 every 3 levels, up to -10 at level 30
Its hard to ignore the damage boosts of Single class Assassin as well as the potential value of the debuff. I went with Assassin dual to fighter because I do not intend to use the 3E Sneak attack version. Fighter also gets the multiple attacks per round while assassin is only stuck with 1.
My concern though, is that though you modified attack and damage ratings (which is great), the summons health/AC/resistances are still standard. Beastmasters summons will not have the staying power to make use of the Beastmaster's aura in a significant way.
I like your Beastmaster modification very much for the standard vanilla game, though (would need to be tempered a bit, however).
I know; that's why I made the damage/thac0 boosts granted to the animals enormous. The animals won't be powerful enough to win fights on their own (if they were, the Beastmaster would be overpowered), but they should still be helpful in certain situations. In my recent testing playthrough, I was playing with Korin as a beastmaster (single-class) and the summoning limit removed (there's a component in the mod that does that). Being able to summon an army of bears and wolves was not overpowered, but it was useful sometimes.
Wow, quick answer btw.
Hmmm, so large fodder army that can actually do damage but dies quick under normal circumstances. Would definitely allow some extra time to get more spells off before the enemy runs into your actual party.
This was a strategy I always implemented in BG2 against the red dragon, for example. Gave me some extra rounds to debuff the dragon.
Thanks. For some reason my posts were being deleted after posting an edit and causing the spam filter to kick in
Monk Questions (mostly)
- Do you have a readme or something that goes through all the class/kit changes you made?
- Do all abilities that scale based on level now scale to 50? Such as monk's armor class and deflect missiles
- Do monk fists go past +4 and if so how high? What about monk's magical resistance?
Either way, it seems that monk damage plummets if not using weapons (since weapono damage properties can get so high) so I am curious if you made monk modifications. This is also due to the fact they cannot be hasted.
It does seem to me that monks can make great tanks though. (assuming you can stack AC higher than what you can with heavy armor and shields)
Would be nice to give monks back the utility of using clerical scrolls and/or wands
In short, just curious how monks perform in your Mod
@Blacksoft Monks in particular are improved a lot by Class and Kit Enhancements. Here's the description of the Monk class:
MONK: Monks are warriors who pursue perfection through contemplation as well as action. They are versatile fighters, especially skilled in combat without weapons or armor. Though Monks cannot cast spells, they have a unique magic of their own: they channel a subtle energy, called ki, which allows them to perform amazing feats. The Monk's best known feat is their ability to stun an opponent with an unarmed blow.
CLASS FEATURES:
- May not wear any armor.
- May only use weapons available to the Thief class (except two-handed).
- May only become Proficient (one slot) in any weapon class.
- May only become Proficient (one slot) in Single-Weapon Style and may not put slots into any other style.
- Moves 2 points faster than other characters. Movement rate further improves by 1 every 5 levels.
- May make 1 unarmed attack per round. An additional 1/2 attack per round is gained every 3 levels. Damage dealt by unarmed attacks increases with level as follows:
Level 1-4: 1d8
Level 5-9: 1d10
Level 10-14: 1d12
Level 15+: 1d20
- At level 5, unarmed attacks are treated as a +1 magical weapon and gain a +1 bonus to hit and damage rolls. This enchantment improves by another +1 every 5 levels thereafter, up to +10 at level 50.
- Receives a +2 bonus to Saving Throws vs. Spell.
- Deflect Missiles: The monk can deflect the first missile that would hit them each round. Deflected missiles will deal no missile damage to the monk, though any other damage that would be dealt by the missile will still hurt the monk.
- Starts with an Armor Class of 9 at 1st level and gains an additional +1 bonus every 2 levels.
- May use the Stunning Blow ability once per day. Gains one use at level 1 and an additional use every 4 levels thereafter.
STUNNING BLOW: All successful attacks within the next round force the victim to save vs. Paralysis or be stunned. The character's Wisdom score determines the difficulty of the saving throw:
Wisdom Saving Throw Bonus/Penalty
1-11 0
12-13 -1
14-15 -2
16-17 -3
18-19 -4
20-21 -5
22-24 -6
25 -7
- 5th level: Becomes immune to all diseases and cannot be slowed.
- 6th level: Gains the Evasion ability.
EVASION: When a Monk is hit by a spell that can be evaded (Fireball, Lightning Bolt, etc.), the Monk is allowed a Save vs. Breath to completely avoid the effects. If the Saving Throw is failed, the spell works normally, including a save for half damage if the spell allows for it. A helpless Monk (e.g. held, stunned, or asleep) cannot use Evasion.
- 7th level: May use the Lay On Hands ability on <PRO_HIMHER>self to heal 2 Hit Points per level.
- 8th level: Gains a -1 bonus to Speed Factor.
- 9th level: Gains a +1 bonus to all Saving Throws and becomes immune to charm.
- 11th level: Becomes immune to poison.
- 12th level: Gains another -1 bonus to Speed Factor.
- 13th level: May use the Quivering Palm ability once per day. Gains an additional use at levels 25, 35 and 45.
QUIVERING PALM: The next successful attack forces the target to save vs. Death or die. The character's Wisdom score determines the difficulty of the saving throw as with Stunning Blow.
- 14th level: Gains 3% Magic Resistance per level (starting with 42% at 14th level).
- 20th level: Becomes immune to non-magical weapons.
- 25th level: Becomes permanently under the effect of Improved Haste while unarmed.
- Alignment restricted to lawful.
- Hit Die: d8
I wanted to ask about Inquisitor. Since other Paladins get dispel magic now as well as better spell progression and higher spells, the Inquisitor which is missing his spellbook seems to be getting the short end of the stick now. Getting breach on its own does not seem like it would offset the powerhouse of a really good spellbook. Am I mistaken in this?
The reason for Breach is that some spellcasters in the mod cast Spell Shield. In this mod, Spell Shield does not protect against things like Breach or Spellstrike; rather, it grants immunity to Dispel Magic for the duration. Breach goes right through Spell Shield.
Btw, have you added any new class specific itemization?
Monks were always really good in the vanilla and ee games from the early teens on. Or do you just mean for this MOD?
This mod. I tried monk in previous patch and he was absolute trash.
If so, I can see a Beastmaster, Shaman, vanilla bard, Jester, skald, and Blackguard (with its aura of despair) being a pretty unique playstyle as the attempt is to stack AOE debuffs and party buffs for an overwhelming wave of awesome summons.
Would this be even remotely playable? What other possible features could one add?
They will be, as a matter of fact. However, the elemental spirits summoned by a higher-level Shaman will not be.
You may be better off using a Totemic Druid rather than a Shaman for this strategy. The Totemic Druid spirits also count as animals and are much more powerful than the Shaman animal spirits.
Thank you.
I think I've found the solution. Try putting the folder "BetterHOF" and the program "setup-BetterHOF.exe" in the same place as icewind.exe and chitin.key.
It's possible your problem was that you put the folder "Improved-Heart-Of-Fury-Mode-master" in the same place as icewind.exe and chitin.key, but didn't take out the contents of that folder.
Tell me if this solves the problem.
I'll keep you updated on how it goes, here's the party I'm thinking.
Front line: Paladain, Fighter/Cleric
Mid Line: Figher/Rogue, Kensai
Back Line: Sorcerer, Bard
https://www.gibberlings3.net/forums/topic/28559-how-would-one-prevent-making-iwd-in-eet-too-easy/page/1
OK, I've got a very simple question for you: did you write all those scripts manually? Really?! Are you mad
If that's the case, here's a tip for you: have you ever heard about this?
I'm too developing an AI mod and that tool is AMAZING! It'll simply things a lot and will allow you to write interesting scripts (combat-wise).
Feel free to ask me any question about it if you're interested...