how is Insane with SCS different than BGEE normal (BG1)

triclops41

I have played through BGEE several times but want to do an insane run with SCS for BG1. What are the big differences in strategy and playstyle. I know sleep becomes a lot more important-what are some other things to keep in mind with tougher and smarter enemies?

agentOO0

SCS has lots of options, so assuming you enable most of them, then normal enemies and some of the main encounters will be tougher. The first thing I noticed was the improved calls for help. That means that if you attack an enemy, his buddies that are still in the fog of was will also come and fight you. This is especially noticeable in places like the bandit camp.

The second thing I noticed was that mages are a lot tougher. They will put up buffs as soon as they turn hostile (via contingencies I assume), so they will often have stuff like Stoneskin, Minor Globe of Invulnerability, Shield, Mirror Image, etc. up. You can still backstab them, but if you whiff or don't do enough damage, then it's on - and at least one mage on Ice Island seems to be unkillable by backstab. In terms of strategy, you need to use Spell Thrust and Secret Word more. Arrows of Dispelling or an Inquisitor also work, unless you chose the option to nerf the inquisitor class.

Third is the tougher main encounters (assuming you enabled them). The last battle against Sarevok is especially tough and now requires new strategies (I don't want to spoil it for you by saying too much), but even the Nashkel mines have some added tough enemies, and Durlag's and Isle of Balduran are tougher.

Fourth, if you enabled the random ambushes, those can be rough since you now have to fight several groups of hired assassins without getting the chance to buff first. Those fights can be tough but also some of the most fun fights. I've developed my own strategies for all the encounters since I mostly play SCS/Insane with no-reloads, but I don't want to ruin it for you by going into specifics, just be prepared and make use good use of wands and spells, Algernon's Cloak, special arrows, bolts, darts, etc. Always try to take out the mages first. It's the usual tough, but enemies are just smarter so you too have to play smarter.

Note: I enable about 95% of the SCS options. The ones I don't enable are things like nerfing the inquisitor (since then that class becomes useless), or letting you assign proficiencies and level up companions more freely as they join or rejoin you because that feels a bit too much like cheating to me (plus that option fucked up Baeloth). I think there might be some cosmetic stuff too that I didn't touch. I would recommend IWDification because having access to IWD spells is just more fun, plus I don't feel it's unfair since enemies get access to them too - also makes Jaheira a bit more fun. But yeah, I'd include all the options that make standard enemies smarter/tougher, make mages tougher, allow the random assassin party ambushes, and boost all the main encounters.

Trouveur

I usually install all the options, to the exception of tougher kobolds which makes Nashkel mines too difficult for level 1 and 2 characters.

The_Baffled_King

Your question in its current form is a little difficult to answer, as there are so many SCS components.

I play on Insane, with all the AI Enhancement components at max, and all the Tactical Challenge components. If you understand the game and are good at it, I recommend all the components in those categories. I think I installed all of them and played on Insane the first time I tried SCS, and I was happy with the difficulty spike. YMMV. I'm just gonna comment on four components:

Smarter General AI: In vanilla, most encounters are easily won by having a tank with a high enough AC that most enemies need criticals to hit. Having the tank out in front is enough to make the enemy focus all their attacks on it, to no avail. You still need a tank, but enemies - particularly those with ranged weapons - are no longer so dumb that they ignore lightly armoured targets that are also in range.

Better Calls for Help: A big change. In vanilla, you can pick off enemies one by one. SCS stops this from happening.

Smarter Mages: Enemy Mages are basically a joke in vanilla; they have little or no spell defences, so you focus on them and kill them without them even getting a spell off (sometimes outright, sometimes disrupting the first spell). Pre-battle casting flips this on its head, and Mages become the most difficult foes in any mixed group of enemies. Expect BG:EE Mages to be rocking Stoneskin, Shield or Armor, Mirror Image, Minor Globe of Invulnerability, and Shadow Door/Improved Invisibility.

Icewind Dale Spells: This is great for several reasons, most importantly it gives Druids a few decent level 1-2 spells.

The SCS readme is excellent, so I'd suggest reading it and then asking questions about specific components.

triclops41 wrote: »

I know sleep becomes a lot more important

Huh? Several SCS components raise the level of enemies specifically so that they are immune to sleep.

Trouveur wrote: »

I usually install all the options, to the exception of tougher kobolds which makes Nashkel mines too difficult for level 1 and 2 characters.

I find Nashkel Mines fine at level 2, but I use full parties, and I like fiddling around with backstabs and micro-managing. I agree it's best to avoid this for a first-time SCS player who wants to go to the Mines at level 2.

agentOO0

About sleep, just do it at the edge of a map so that you can run if 30 kobolds or something show up and you don't want to deal with them. Sleeping in certain places can be tough to pull off, like inside the Cloakwood mines - if I need to sleep there, I just go back up to the surface level and sleep there; guards may still show up but the probability of it is much smaller than insides the mine. I don't remember anymore how sleep with SCS vs no-SCS compares exactly, but you are right that you probably get attacked more often and by larger groups of enemies.

Note: I wouldn't enable double damage under the normal game options the first time you play with SCS/Insane simply because you'll already have enough to deal with. Later on when SCS/Insane too starts to feel easy, then I'd enable double damage (I feel it's only fair if you chose to max HP on level ups, which I do).

BardsSuck_

I think scs has a way bigger impact on BG2 due to many mage defence shenanigans, but still improves bg1 decently.

palladium

It sounds like wands are important to SCS, or at least one way to handle the extra challenges posed. Is recharging of wands still allowed in SCS?

Trouveur

palladium wrote: »

It sounds like wands are important to SCS, or at least one way to handle the extra challenges posed. Is recharging of wands still allowed in SCS?

Yes, just sell them and buy them again. 🙂

Trouveur

agentOO0 wrote: »

I don't remember anymore how sleep with SCS vs no-SCS compares exactly, but you are right that you probably get attacked more often and by larger groups of enemies.

Note: I wouldn't enable double damage under the normal game options the first time you play with SCS/Insane simply because you'll already have enough to deal with. Later on when SCS/Insane too starts to feel easy, then I'd enable double damage (I feel it's only fair if you chose to max HP on level ups, which I do).

SCS doesn't modify Sleep, but make some foes level 5 or higher so it doesn't affect them anymore.

I don't use double damage with SCS (because it makes mages so much better at tanking than fighter) but I use a Tweaks component giving max HP to all creatures in the game, including the foes. That's a fair way to counterbalance max HP by level option.