Of BG and analysis paralyses...
ElysianEchoes
Member Posts: 475
Some fifteen or so years ago, I started playing BG, and have played it intermittently ever since. But for me, "play" is defined as make a bunch of characters, barely play any of them, delete them, uninstall, reinstall, repeat. There furthest I've ever gotten is the bandit camp, and I've only made it that far, once!
I even had a druid once with a stat total of 99, and that wasn't even good enough. He was deleted within a week.
I've read too much choice can paralyse someone like me.
I really want to enjoy this game all the way through. How do I break this cycle? How do I pick a character and keep it?
Does anyone have any advice?
I even had a druid once with a stat total of 99, and that wasn't even good enough. He was deleted within a week.
I've read too much choice can paralyse someone like me.
I really want to enjoy this game all the way through. How do I break this cycle? How do I pick a character and keep it?
Does anyone have any advice?
4
Comments
Planning a character is also a nice way to get attached to it.
And finally: mods. They open new contents, change old ones, allow new strategies.
Getting a mod like Deities of Faerûn or Might and Guile may serve you well. Also Item Randomizer makes things way more interesting.
Are you agonizing over the worry that they might not be perfect?
Do you grow bored of them?
@Raduziel , I wouldn't know where to start with mods as I only have a tablet right now. Mods also would increase the available options, and might just make it harder for me to pick something. Rotating runs just ends up as fifty saves outside candle keep gates lol. But planning a character to become attached to it? You might have something there. I had the same sort of problem paying PnP, also, but not as out of control.
Thanks for the responses.
Perhaps it would help to choose a class combination that most people regard as especially versatile or interesting, like an elven fighter/mage/thief or a half-elf ranger/cleric. After reading about why those combinations are popular, you could then do a complete run-through to see whether you agree. Good luck!
Sadly, when I tried to play IWD:EE, making the whole party introduced a whole new breed of grass - theme parties. I wanted to try so many different combinations of classes, my neuroticism became that much more acute.
Maybe I'm just hopeless lol
I know I did and serves me very well until today.
None taken, good sir. I've actually started seeing a therapist in the past couple weeks, though haven't done much more than give a history and take some t/f test so far. It'll probably be good to mention this, too, then.
Meanwhile, though, know any tips/techniques I could try?
I like to play a character, but what I like even more is planning on how I will progress that character all throughout the saga. But once I get onto playing one, I also get all other different ideas, and keep following this forum which provides even more interesting things to try every day.
The way I cope with all this abundance of options and information is, to keep planning. While I'm on a playthrough, I make notes about other ideas that I want to try in my future playthroughs, and I even have 2 tables in excel, 1 for character ideas and 1 for party themes and options using those characters. As I keep getting new ideas and learning cool new things, I keep adding them into my tables and notes with detail, like explaining the strategies, items to use, mods to use and such.
I think my main difference with you is, I don't get into trying these new ideas straight away. I'm just noting them for the future. This way, I have something to look for after my current game as well. For example, I've been on a Stalker playthrough for more than 6 months now, and I'm still at the early stages of BG2 due to not having enough time to play. But, I am looking forward to finishing this playthrough so that I can start a new one, which will be a Dragon Disciple. I have 10 other ideas lined up, and I will most probably never play all of them, but that doesn't mean that I can't plan them. I might use some of these characters on Black Pits or Icewind Dale as well, as they are much shorter to finish.
I'm also wondering how I might do with a character suggested by another as opposed to trying to analyze what would be "best" or "fun" for myself.
I would say: don't face videogames as an obligation and try to keep in mind that the game is there to be replayed as many times as you want. Try to focus on the idea that you're sabotaging yourself and staying away from a wonderful trip across the Sword Coast.
My therapist said one thing to me once: don't be your enemy. May sound something simple, but this simple thought made something click inside of me.
Don't be your enemy, stop sabotaging your fun. Or eating poorly. Or not exercising. Or holding regret. Or taking things too seriously. Or taking too few hours of sleep for things that don't need your attention. This list goes on.
Now, back on topic: If I were you, I would write a background for your character, define a personality and roleplay it. I was only able to beat restartitis when I started doing that. Roleplay, item randomizer and no-reload.
I like to keep them, mostly for RP reasons. Like, when I travel with someone I do not trust, I can give them the Bracers of Binding before going to sleep, and cast a Remove Curse in the morning.
I guess you could also exploit cursed items when one of your characters gets charmed, abusing the bug that you can still equip things even when the character's inventory is locked down. I have never tried that though.
For me, the story, the quests, the people to encounter (NPCs included) was always the most important thing. I barely roleplay different classes, I just play a better version of myself, lol.
@Grond0 , also good advice. I do seem to get overwhelmed too easily.
@chimaera , what a neat character! That's a good example of what Raduziel was talking about. The grass I mean is the combat, but you're right, there's an NPC for just about anything I could make myself, I imagine.
@masteraleph , I wonder about how my characters will play out in the sequels. May be part of what overwhelms me. It is pretty rough when a wolf can chew one up in the first wilderness area, huh?
@jastey , I've considered that, too, but get hung up on the extra dimension of party combinations. Like you say, encountering the NPCs seems an important part of the experience.
Thank you, everyone, for your responses.
I don't think it's too much of a spoiler to tell you that no matter what you do in BG1, you are going to wind up in BG2 with Jaheira, Minsc, and Imoen as your starting party, and BG2 assumes they were your party in BG1. Because of Jaheira and Minsc being mainline story characters, you also have to have Khalid and Dynaheir in your party for BG1 in a canon story run. That makes your party already decided for you. It will be you as a fighter, Jaheira, Khalid, Imoen, Minsc, and Dynaheir.
You could have this canon story run going and progress it whenever you want to just get a little further in the story, and still have other runs going where you are trying out impulse ideas for characters. You would have a bit of detachment from Abdel (his portrait is the one of a handsome brown-haired, blue-eyed male in plate mail, blue background), since you didn't really create him. He's a fighter. There, that decision is done.
Anyway, all that may or may not appeal to you, but it's an idea.
EDIT: LOL, now I've got myself wanting to start a canon story run with a chaotic good berserker.
@BelgarathMTH , that sounds worth a try, at the least. Eliminating option seems a good way to break paralysis.
@OlvynChuru , I'll give it watch when I can. Thanks for finding it for me.
I had a similar thought, but taking twice as long to get the 'fun' wizard spells gave me pause.
I've learned that playing the game without reloads (eg. no reload when a party character is dead, no reload when a wrong quest decision is made, no reload when a neutral NPC is accidentally killed by your magic, etc) can make you connected to the character (and the party) you're playing as. The moment you lose the game makes you start again, but not in the way as when you do so because of that variety of choices.
After losing a few characters to such deaths, I usually become very involved into the game and try to do my utmost best not to lose another character.
So I go for something like a Bard (Blade) or a multi-class Fighter/Thief--something that's mildly powerful throughout, with enough different mechanics to keep me invested. Playing a vanilla fighter can get a little one-dimensional, for instance. It's also good to focus on making NPCs "your own" but spec-ing them how you like, so you get invested in them as well.
Maybe it would be fun to share a play through, also. I've enjoyed reading about some from other people. Might keep me interested, too, if someone else were interested.
Edit: I decided to make the berserker, as it seemed as good as any place to start, rather then obsessing over what could happen later in the saga. And, I got a pretty dang good roll! 18/52, 18, 18, 18, 5, 18 ?
Anyway, that gives me the future option to dual into thief or mage. So if berserker gets stale on its own, I can branch out.
Now, to come up with a personality and plan. I took axes and two weapon for level 1. I wonder what cool weapons I'll come across...
Baldur's Gate is a little easier, as I'm not fond of dual classing and like to play classes and kits as single class. This is probably because Might & Magic 7 was my first RPG and every class was purely set in its path and options, so dual and even multi-classing to an extent seemed blasphemous!
One reason why I got into modding NPCs was the desire to really make characters into their own in a sort of multiplayer create your own party of six, but with their own "living" personalities. The undeniable truth is if I had only focused on one I would probably be done with a mod for the whole saga, but it's just too difficult to choose one and I really like the idea of a full party.
Doing a canon run through is usually always one of my playthroughs. Then I'll do a complete custom through of a custom party of six, or something creative, like a full party of shorty NPCs, a mix of Bioware and modded ones usually, a party of all cool women warriors (Who needs magic?), or other fun but bad ideas that will end with a very quick game over message.