Maximum Level

FredN

OK, I decided to play a Bard (Blade subclass) to see how it went. (My first run through of ToB was a half-orc berserker; pretty straight forward playing style ... go crazy and whack things with some outrageously powerful weapon). Currently MC is level 33. I haven't defeated Balthazar yet. and I intend, after that, to help Dorn storm Elysium. The problem is that my Bard won't get their full spell capacity until level 37! Pretty ridiculous when you think about it. All other classes peak before that. Will there be enough experience from those two missions to actually reach that level before the final confrontation? Seems like it's going to be a close call.

DinoDin

It's actually level 38. I wouldn't sweat it to be honest. Frankly, in ToB you can rest almost whenever with the pocket plane, a deep spellbook hardly matters. You are unlikely to notice much power growth, or greater ability to win fights. Just play an enjoy the final stretch. Pretty much anything after level 30 is going to be a meager upgrade.

FredN

.....Oh sure; one spell fewer is hardly going to break me. But why make it so hard to get that last spell slot? As I said, any other spell casting type gets their maximum number of spell slots long before this level. What's the point of deisgning a character that has no chance of achieving it's full potential? I think I have pretty much maximized my experience gain during this run. But I have 60,000 experience to go to reach level 34. I seriously doubt I will get that final spell slot before the game finale.
.....OK, to be totally fair, this character was created at the start of ToB. I would have more experience if I started them in SoA. If I went for maximum experience there as well, things might be different. I'm a bit reluctant to go through all that grind just to grab one extra spell slot. Hmm, I'd also get a couple more HLAs, of course. An extra greater evasion or avoid death can't hurt. I doubt I will go through all the bother, though.
....,Addendum: OMG, you are right, it IS level 38 for bards. OK, that's definitely not gonna happen.

atcDave

There’s really no need to worry about maxing things out, honestly I’ve played all the way through many times (near 50 now?) and never given it any thought. You will have plenty of resources available by the time you get to the end in a pretty normal run, no sort of grinding is ever needed. By the time you reach 25th level or so, additional levels contribute virtually nothing to the power of the character.

FredN

Oh, I agree, as implemented now, I am sure my guys can totally complete the game. I am just logically offended by this design choice. Why even bother designing a character with skills which cannot ever be implemented? Just say that bards cant have more than 4 sixth level spell slots; problem over. Make 4 level 6 spells the maximum and I won't end up obsessing over it.

atcDave

I’m pretty sure it’s there *just* to annoy you!

DinoDin

To be fair, ToB was a rushed product. It was also made by a much smaller team than today's games. Also they implemented the ruleset mechanics before actually thinking about the adventure/all the exp in it. Frankly a good design choice long term as it made building the other IE games easier for them.

The ToB endgame shows alot of lack of polish. Just think about how bare the final town in the game is. The tail end is best rushed through.

Trouveur

Seems a little off topic for the BGEE forum section. ^^

FredN

>>"I’m pretty sure it’s there *just* to annoy you!"<<
I know, right? They totally wanted to screw with my head! Grrr!

DinoDin

Thinking more about it, I prefer how ToB doesn't expect you to reach the level cap. And lets you grind out, if you want, extra XP to get there.

Obviously something they could not have done in the first game. But, in playing some other CRPG's recently, where you can easily hit the level cap well before you finish the game, I prefer how BG2/ToB works instead. It allows for a completionist playthrough to feel a little more rewarding while balancing that against overpowering you for the finale.

atcDave

Absolutely, I think it feels more organic not to have a hard cap that *everyone* must be at to complete the game. It’s all part of a meaningful distinction between more and less powerful characters, and letting the player mess around with how they play differently.