Baldur's Gate 2 Playthrough (SCS + SR)
TylerDurden
Member Posts: 17
Hello everyone. Wanted to share the progress of my most recent run. I started yesterday after finishing BG1, and Siege of Dragonspear. SCS installed with BG1, and now I'm playing with SCS, Spell Revisions, and Tweaks Anthology for BG2. Wanted to play with lots of fun mods, and more challenge... 'cause I'm a masochist, of course. I am a huge lover of magic, across most games, and BG is no exception. I wanted to try Spell Revisions for its alterations of the game I know, since I've beaten it many times across my lifetime. If anyone has any advice for me concerning SR, I'd love to hear it. I'm dreading the mage duels, honestly.
So, without further ado, let's begin!
Here are the heroes of this adventure. They have been together since my Icewind Dale Improved HOF mod run, and have managed to find themselves here, too. They are as follows, arranged from top to bottom-
Leon - Sorcerer. He's mostly artillery, but seems to handle buff-stripping in equal measure. Now that he has Breach, life won't be so rough, like it was in BG1. Those mages that can cast Stoneskin were absolutely awful. Hahaha!
Kiara - Paladin. She's a classic tank. High HP, sword and shield. I'm speccing her in great swords too, so she's going to wield Carsomyr once they manage to beat Firkraag... IF they beat Firkraag...
Cody - The hero of our story. He's a Berserker -> Mage dual who changed at 9. Pretty strong in melee terms, and he makes a decent tank, to boot. Kiara is already starting to take some really serious damage, so I'm sure he's going to be the main tank, sooner than later. Which is fine, of course, since that's what I am building him for. Getting through SoD with him as a low level mage was rough, especially during the Morentherene battle, where his physical DPS was direly needed.
Lucian - Shapeshifter. The werewolf of the party. I mostly use him as an off-tank right, and he works fantastically. SR adds some nice offensive spells to his list, so he can be a DPS caster if needed. I figure he'll be forced to be a pure caster down the line, when things really start hitting hard.
Sophie - Cleric/Mage. She can heal. She can harm. She can strip spell protections! She does it all! She's focused on debuffing, with slow, glitterdust, confusion, and the like, but she's my number one choice for stopping enemy mages. She works alongside Leon, though, but Cody is starting to get into his own as well. The more people that can make mages vulnerable, the easier time I'll have, I've noticed.
Trace - Archer. He's physical DPS. A one-trick-pony, but that's all he needs to be. He's super powerful.
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I did some practicing, first thing. Detect Invisibility seems to be a sort of mode, now, that allows a caster to target enemy mages with spells, but doesn't actually dispel anything. I'm... not sure how I feel about this, honestly. I am guessing once I bring down Non-detection, I can strip invisibility with a spell like Oracle or Detect Illusion, but I haven't found one affected by Non-detection just yet. I am also nearly sure someone with True Seeing on won't have to fuss about invis at all, so there's that.
I do appreciate Spell Thrust being an AoE, and Secret Word being a Power Word is cool, too. Instant cast spells are always nice!
Dispelling Screen is honestly fantastic. I fought a Rakshasa and it was nice seeing my buffs preserved after a casting of Dispel Magic. I cast another DS after that, just in case! Can't be too careful with these mods. Haha!
This was my first "Real" fight of the game, and I did all right. The fighters hit like trucks, and Sophie was on healing duty just to keep Kiara alive. Cody had run into the room all by myself, but they ignored him, probably due to his Mestil's Acid Sheathe. Smart of them, I suppose!
So, without further ado, let's begin!
Here are the heroes of this adventure. They have been together since my Icewind Dale Improved HOF mod run, and have managed to find themselves here, too. They are as follows, arranged from top to bottom-
Leon - Sorcerer. He's mostly artillery, but seems to handle buff-stripping in equal measure. Now that he has Breach, life won't be so rough, like it was in BG1. Those mages that can cast Stoneskin were absolutely awful. Hahaha!
Kiara - Paladin. She's a classic tank. High HP, sword and shield. I'm speccing her in great swords too, so she's going to wield Carsomyr once they manage to beat Firkraag... IF they beat Firkraag...
Cody - The hero of our story. He's a Berserker -> Mage dual who changed at 9. Pretty strong in melee terms, and he makes a decent tank, to boot. Kiara is already starting to take some really serious damage, so I'm sure he's going to be the main tank, sooner than later. Which is fine, of course, since that's what I am building him for. Getting through SoD with him as a low level mage was rough, especially during the Morentherene battle, where his physical DPS was direly needed.
Lucian - Shapeshifter. The werewolf of the party. I mostly use him as an off-tank right, and he works fantastically. SR adds some nice offensive spells to his list, so he can be a DPS caster if needed. I figure he'll be forced to be a pure caster down the line, when things really start hitting hard.
Sophie - Cleric/Mage. She can heal. She can harm. She can strip spell protections! She does it all! She's focused on debuffing, with slow, glitterdust, confusion, and the like, but she's my number one choice for stopping enemy mages. She works alongside Leon, though, but Cody is starting to get into his own as well. The more people that can make mages vulnerable, the easier time I'll have, I've noticed.
Trace - Archer. He's physical DPS. A one-trick-pony, but that's all he needs to be. He's super powerful.
----
I did some practicing, first thing. Detect Invisibility seems to be a sort of mode, now, that allows a caster to target enemy mages with spells, but doesn't actually dispel anything. I'm... not sure how I feel about this, honestly. I am guessing once I bring down Non-detection, I can strip invisibility with a spell like Oracle or Detect Illusion, but I haven't found one affected by Non-detection just yet. I am also nearly sure someone with True Seeing on won't have to fuss about invis at all, so there's that.
I do appreciate Spell Thrust being an AoE, and Secret Word being a Power Word is cool, too. Instant cast spells are always nice!
Dispelling Screen is honestly fantastic. I fought a Rakshasa and it was nice seeing my buffs preserved after a casting of Dispel Magic. I cast another DS after that, just in case! Can't be too careful with these mods. Haha!
This was my first "Real" fight of the game, and I did all right. The fighters hit like trucks, and Sophie was on healing duty just to keep Kiara alive. Cody had run into the room all by myself, but they ignored him, probably due to his Mestil's Acid Sheathe. Smart of them, I suppose!
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Stopped the slavers in their ship this morning. The big fight with the two mages was fun. The mage in the screenshot didn't throw up any defenses at all, surprisingly, which meant that Trace stuck two arrows right between his eyes, and that was that. The Illusionist was a different story, though, but Cody's Oracle, followed by Leon's Breach, was enough to tear away his defenses. I can appreciate the fights not starting to be an absolute crazy mess, which gives me time to learn and appreciate the combats and how to defeat the mages. I assuming the "Inn Fight" from last night was meant for a later and more experienced group, but I am glad the heroes could still persevere, despite their obvious struggle.
Not sure where I'm going to go next, probably D'Arnise keep.
Lastly, Lilarcor is driving Kiara absolutely mad with his ramblings, haha. She needs him though, since confusion is, so far, the absolutely worst status in the game.
On your party composition - no thieving skills whatsoever? Aside from that bit of ranger stealth, anyway. That's an interesting challenge all on its own...
Hmm... I've never been good at coming up with titles, but I'll try to think up something. Haha. It will probably have something to do with magic, since every one of my characters can use it.
I honestly cannot stand playing thieves. I find the concept of stealth, backstabbing, etc. annoying and too time-consuming, and I don't think it's worth crippling one of my character's strength just to open locks. The Knock/Battering Ram spell has been working well so far.
Yeah, that is what I am worried about, too. I have done some research though, so I'll see how things go when the time comes.
TorGal's fight was awful. The three Yuan-Ti mages were incredibly tough, and those stupid spectral trolls with their Mass Commands weren't any fun, either. Leon shined here, since his Web, followed by two castings of Acid Fog (and Lucian's Ice Storm) were enough to keep everything from overwhelming the heroes. Kiara, Cody, and Lucian dispatched anything that broke through Leon's webs, while Cody and Leon bombarded the hall with Fireball after Fireball. The trick was retreating back into the room, so the mobs would be forced to come to you, thus getting hit by all the Acid Fogs. TorGal himself wasn't too bad, but those three Yuan-Ti mages made the entire thing a nightmare.
The Shade Lord was actually pretty easy. Leon and Cody cast Fireball and Sophie, Holy Smite, and he went down fairly quickly. Rest in peace, Merella. I remember her storyline being one of my favourites from when I played before. Sad that little Kaatje has lost her friend.
Next up is the Cult of the Eyeless, which wasn't too bad altogether. Leon did most of the work against the beholders, with multiple Acid Fogs.
This quest was pretty cool, in its exploration of the concept of hope. Can you be disappointed so many times that you give up, and even if something threatens change, are you so used to the disappointment and despair that you don't believe it? It was nice to see the spirits finally receive peace after waiting for years and years.
The party fight in the sewers was incredibly tough. Multiple fighters, a mage, and a cleric all working together... A lot of teamwork, and a lot of pausing resulted in victory, especially since Kiara and Cody spent a good deal of the fight paralyzed. What does this game want? Am I supposed to cast Free Action and Chaotic Commands before every single fight?? 'Cause that's certainly what it seems like...
Some interesting and not so tongue-in-cheek commentary on the government and/or certain organizations. Made me chuckle.
Faldorn's fight. Lucian definitely had a hard time, but it was nice that I could buff him without worrying about being dispelled. Still, I cast Dispelling Screen just in case. Haha! Entropy Shield, Barkskin, Stoneskin, and all the good stuff, and he went into battle. First thing I did was put Insect Plague on her, followed by Static Charge. She used call Lightning on Lucian, which was surprising, because the map looked like it was inside.
She started summoning a lot of nonsense, so I waited til she was done before casting Banishment, removing everything in one fell swoop. That was pretty cool, honestly. The rest of the fight proved fairly easy, as I just waited her buffs out and got through her 20000 stoneskin layers, which took forever. Ironically, Lucian had Insect Plague on himself during the Banishment casting, but I guess maybe his Stoneskin protected him from losing his spell.
I tried the Itahfeer fight, but she's just too powerful for my party at this level, and I'll have to return later. The loss of Zone of Sweet Air for this mod combo is incredibly noticeable, since it's always been one of my favourite and important spells. I miss it terribly.
Today I battled the two dragons. Ol' Thaxy was arguably the hardest of the two. Protection from Negative Energy was super vital in winning, as well as DIspelling Screen so everyone's buffs aren't stripped. Dispelling Screen, improved haste, armour of faith, defensive harmony, as well as every kind of bless spell imaginable helped a lot. Add a few emotions and the heroes were good to go.
Firkraag was about the same buff setup, with the addition of Protection vs the Elements. His AI must've detected that everyone was immune to fire, since he didn't try to breathe once. Smart, haha. He was a bit trickier at times, since his multiple defenses were up. Ruby Ray + Secret Word, followed by Breach every time he put up Stoneskin meant he was unprotected. Don't forget Dispelling Screen here, too!
I've pretty much cleared all the side quests, so it's onto the main story for now.
The drow weren't bad. They're made easier if you focus fire on them and take the Priestesses out quickly, before they overwhelm you.
This fight was honestly super rough. I buffed off-screen before travelling, and they still got me. Dispel magics abound, so watch your mages carefully, lest they get assassinated. ADHW helped, though.
Bodhi's fight was the second hardest in the game. All those vampire allies of her really make a mess of things, and bottlenecking in the doorway is absolute must. Even with Drizzt's help, she is still incredibly strong and rough to take down.
Exciting dragon fight. Not too challenging, but you have to pay attention, lest you get overwhelmed. Kiara;s Hardiness really helped a lot here.
Irenicus wasn't too bad. He got off a few ADHW, but nobody got too badly hurt. I dealt with his summons, while Trace used Greater Whirlwind to turn into a machinegun and fill Ol' Jonny Boy with arrows.
Cody, Leon, and Sophie stripped his protections. Pierce Shield is incredibly strong, and I love that it dispels combat protections, too. It makes life a lot easier than having to spend multiple turns just to bring everything down.
It's over for Irenicus! This fight was tough, don't get me wrong, but it felt fair, which was honestly refreshing. I summoned all my planetars, devas, and elementals, buffed everyone to high heaven, and got ready. Your buffs are the difference between life and death. As soon as the cutscene was over, I had Cody stay in the center, and everyone else flee southward, so they wouldn't be hit by the 200 Dispel Magics cast upon Cody. Once the Slayer's protections were stripped, Cody landed his slow from flail of ages, Kiara kept dispelling him, and Sophie landed Implosion, stunning him and sealing his fate. That proved to be effective, and with the party's combined might with their divine and elemental helpers, they won.
Cody finally got his soul back, and he and his friends are real heroes, now! Remembering them at BG1, when Cody was a humble level 1 Berserker, Sophie could only cast 1 mage spell before needing to rest, and Kiara being unable to hit the broad side of a barn... it's incredible seeing how far they've come.
I honestly love the changes with SR. It's made a lot of the bad spells much more competent, nerfed some of the powerful ones, yet not too much that it's upsetting. The HLAs are really strong.
Best spells -
Meteor Swarm. It's a targeted AoE now, deals tremendous damage, and does not get affected by MR. Super good vs mages.
Disintegrate. Leon did 136 damage to the black dragon in Suldanessellar with one casting. Incredible damage.
Bolt of Glory - Fair damage, and it bypasses MR. what's not to love?
Implosion - The guaranteed stun, even vs Irenicus himself, is nearly broken. I love it.
Dispelling Screen - Most enemies only have one casting of Dispel magic, so this is usually reliable. It's really nice!
Pierce Shield - Breach backed by spell protection stripping. Incredible.
Comet and Dragons' Breath - Heavy damage, stunning, and knockback. Oh, and they bypass MR. God-Tier epicness.
Acid Storm - Heavy damage over time. It's honestly incredibly strong. Don't look past it.
Acid Fog - A must against beholders. I wouldn't know how to beat them otherwise. Even with the reflective shield they were still able to hurt my character.
Absolute immunity - It's absolute immunity. Honestly, this time. Be careful if you're in a enemy's time stop, though. It still ticks down.
The invisibility, my biggest worry for this mod, wasn't really that much of an issue. True Seeing worked well enough, and breach could still be cast reliably through it. Detect invisibility was quickly cast, so it was helpful to expose thieves.
Hardest fight in the game was TorGal. Maybe I was underlevelled. Those Yuan Ti mages were so nasty, and you have to deal with 3 of them at the same time.
Second hardest was Bodhi. The fact that you have to beat her twice certainly doesn't make things easier... Haha.
Final Verdict - I enjoyed this series of mods. Perhaps I'll play again with just SCS installed, and no SR, and see how different the game is.
Undecided if I want to play ToB. Probably some other time. Black Geyser and Knights of the Chalice 2 are calling me, and I feel compelled to answer!
Cheers everyone!