What do you skip?
redline
Member Posts: 296
I recently finished a playthrough where I hit chapter 7 and just said "screw it, I'm not going to retrieve Shandalar's cloak.". After dozens of playthroughs, the thought of having to face the same set of teleporting, confusion-casting mages in a trapped maze just sounded like the opposite of fun. Ditto for Ramazith's tower, stat boost be damned; it's easy loot, but it's tedious and I couldn't be bothered.
While I'm normally a completionist in most games that I play, a reduction in free time and SoD's bumping you WAY over the original level cap mean I feel liberated to just outright skip major dungeons and quests at this point. The ice island is my big example; I'm curious, who else finds themselves skipping significant content, even at the expense of loot and xp, and why?
While I'm normally a completionist in most games that I play, a reduction in free time and SoD's bumping you WAY over the original level cap mean I feel liberated to just outright skip major dungeons and quests at this point. The ice island is my big example; I'm curious, who else finds themselves skipping significant content, even at the expense of loot and xp, and why?
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It is a sickness.
But here's some things I almost always skip:
Durlag's tower
Werewolf island
Nashkel Carnival
Firewine ruins (I pop in from behind, kill the mage, exit the same way out)
All road maps without proper loot or exp (enter map, ctrl-j to the other side, move to next map)
The Drizzt map unless I specifically want his scimis
Beregost Temple map except for quest return
Gnoll Fortress (pop in, take the DEX gloves. Ctrl-j/Run for the CHA tome, exit again. Never get Dynaheir, never use Minsc)
Ulcaster ruins (You can't kill the ghost for his cloak anymore, AFAIK)
Almost all maps in Baldurs gate. The only things I do is meta-kill the poison guys (forgot the names) for his boots of speed before dialogue starts to avoid that quest to start. Get the INT tome, get the WIS tome, go into Thieves den, kill everything for EXP, take the DEX tome and exit. Go get Baldurans cloak and helmet, skip all quests. Go to docks for Rasaad's quest start. Go kill the ogre mages if I need EXP. Then I push the story quests. Might pop down to take out the ogre mage in the sewers if I feel like it.
Very seldom do the TotSC content, just get the items from the vendor in Ulgoth's.
I actually do the Shandalar's cloak quest. It gives great EXP for some fairly easy fights (the ankheg bard is the hardest IMHO), some good loot and gives you an opportunity to kill off that bugger himself at the end with the old wand of paralyzation trick.
Now that I think about it, I probably seldom cover more than 20% of the content in a normal run. I usually go: Candlekeep -> Beregost (Silke) -> Sirens or Mutamin's garden (depends on charname) -> Ankheg's (and the wand of fire there) -> Pick up tomes -> Hunt items -> Kill off all assassins/hunt merc crews/Nashkel mines and the go forward towards Cloakwood roughly around max level usually and with most items I want. Get the boots of speed there, speed through the mines to the last level, take out Davaeorn and push for BG. Go back, pick up Dorn, force his quest line, go back and finish his quest. Go get Rasaad/Neera, force their quest line, finish them for the loot (No Rasaad if solo, then I don't need the belt. And if no mage I skip Neera, 'cause no need for Stoneskin). Yeah, that probably sums it up pretty good.
Maybe because I don't play very well, (possible, very possible) I find SCS/insane always throws up difficult and tricky fights.
So currently in Durlags, garden level, those Ashkuri(sp) things are still and have been a challenge.
So as the whole point of playing a game is to beat what a game throws at you, why would I skip any of it?
Especially to move onto a later portion of the game where it's again about beating what the game throws at you.
So if I complete Durlags, returning to Ulgoth's is going to be a nightmare, always is, for me.
It's not because I'm a "completionist", it's just that challenging gameplay is the whole point isn't it?
Only time that gets lost, for me, is mid/late TOB.
Regarding Ramazith's tower... You can have a thief go invisible and just walk up to the top floor and insta gib him with a single backstab in the vanilla game. Takes less than a minute and you get the book. Of course I fight everything for the fun of it but if I didn't want to, I would go that route for the gratification of it and getting the tome.
So yes I do skip some things...those.
Now with Siege of Dragonspear..the BG1 replay tedium has increased by 50% at least^^
The only time I really enjoyed Ulcaster and Firewine were when I was soloing as a Fighter/Thief. They are a really nice challenge if you are not too high level (and you haven't played them for long enough that you can't remember where all the traps are). When you are soloing path finding isn't an issue and they turn into really good dungeons instead of a chore.
Personally, I wait until I escape the Candlekeep Catacombs. At this point the Iron Throne is practically destroyed but thanks to Serevok you have the Flaming Fist looking for you and you just barely escaped the trap at Candlekeep. I use this part of the game to "lay low". I will usually split up my team and take on extra NPC quests at this point in the game and I will usually do quests far off the beaten path to keep busy. Durlog's Tower, FIrewine Ruins, Werewolf island ect.
After I have completed every quest in the game I pretend that my character gets word of Serevok's coronation and so I get my original team back together and head for Baldur's gate to complete the game.
Is it just to get to the ending cinematic?
Next you'll be telling me you're playing it on mobile devices in public.
For you I will
Crusade against windmills
From Moongaze's furries
To Sillara's lolis
Red shall be Lilarcor
As I pick HLAs with ardor
Sweet Sweet XP...
(This post is brought to you by severe jet lag and a few martini shots)
I'm not too keen on the werewolf island either as the plot is full of holes - your party ends up in the sea in a storm wearing full plate armour and gets washed ashore instead of going straight to the bottom and drowning? Then luckily when you make your escape, your party happen to be experienced sailors who can sail a ship home.
Aside from that, I try to do virtually everything unless there are RP reasons to skip certain parts. I'll always explore every last corner of every map I visit.
like i said i don't want to do durlag's tower but i'll do werewolf island and the ice maze.
I love Durlag's Tower however. I feel it's the best dungeon in a video game.
Also, I have two kinds of Paladins. One is a traditional kind, where I avoid thievery, murder, all that bad stuff, and others are total kleptomaniac murderhobos who justify their actions on a cosmic scale by not being punished by Reputation loss. I don't know if anybody else does this, it's kind of ironic metagaming. Good, Evil, Law, Chaos, being measurable things in Dungeons & Dragons, when nobody in the (limited video game version of the) multiverse gets mad at me, it MUST be ok, right?
So... Why skip game contents ?
Because you won't always feel like doing it ALL over again if you're replaying the game. Clearly, some areas in the game are more tedious than others.
People have the right to dislike the game as well. When I played Fallout 3 I wasn't really into it. Something was missing and I didn't find it in me to do every single quest there was... cause it was boring. Now if you compare my Fallout 3 experience with New Vegas it's totally different, I spent more than 500 hours on New Vegas cause the atmosphere was great. Baldur's Gate certainly is a great game, but it's not flawless and it's entirely ok for some people to just "meh" it. Don't blame those for wanting to end the game rather quickly.
Also, it's not crazy to skip for roleplay reasons. If you're in a hurry, you might not have the time to wander across the land and save a witch who might be dead already just because some madman and his rodent asked you to. People sometimes forget after Candlekeep that your foster father just got crushed and that there are assassins everywhere hunting you down. What kind of mindset should you have then ?
I believe it to be of little realism that someone who's being tracked like an animal would just help you out with your chicken problem. To wholeheartedly accept and fulfill every single quest there's is not necessarily the best way to play, it's just the completionist way.
That being said, you could decide to help out a LITTLE because of your good nature while not losing track with your own predicament. Picking who you're gonna help or not - especially if you take into account alignment - can make for several playthroughs and that's nice. A completionist, once he's beaten the game, will find it harder to do it again unless he really is a hardcore fan.
So you see, while I certainly am a completionist deep down I totally understand those who skip.
Later in the game, it becomes more difficult to rationalise going off on side quests, especially when you are approaching the showdown with Sarevok. Getting on a ship and disappearing for 3 months to investigate a mysterious island at that point is a bit too much for me. You might want to lie low after leaving Candlekeep for the second time until the heat dies down a little bit, but there's a sense of urgency at that point in the game - you know that Sarevok's plans are proceeding and you must stop him so leaving the country is over the top.
Right into it. Are you seriously entertaining the idea that teaming up with Minsc would allow you to lie low ? Come on, you could bring along a whole orchestra you still wouldn't be as noticeable as with Minsc. That lunatic can't keep his mouth shut when necessary because he lacks reason, unlike Jan who understands when to cut the crap off because he's just a smart troll.
Minsc is the kind of fella that raises his rodent like a trophy upon entering a village to present his famous space-rodent - or whatever it was - to about just everyone with a stupid grin on his face. And don't even think about bringing him into the woods cause he'll probably lose Boo or put the whole forest on alert by yelling and babbling about god knows what. So much for lying low..
It will take two days at most for assassins to find you again, even in the most remote of places.. * just follow the screams, guys ! *
And let's not forget that wizard affair should you doublecross Edwin. You were hunted down by forces you have yet to comprehend and now you also have one of the strongest wizards on your back.
How is that going to help with your protection ?
How come the little voice in your head doesn't tell you that it's a BAD idea to get involved in all this ?
Despite Minsc being physically strong I would no doubt prefer someone less insane to protect me, especially when I'm quite weak and already accompagnied by Imoen, Jaheira and Khalid who are trustworthy and competent. That big sword of his could also be your end if he starts going berserk for some reason. Oops, critical hit, you're dead. Soooo long BG2 !
In my opinion, hiring Minsc makes sense if : One, you're playing a lunatic yourself. Two, you're a paladin or so kind-hearted - good alignment needed there - that you can't help but bring along Minsc out of compassion for his... condition. In this case, the big risk is justified by goodness. Not my fancy but it's a valid and strong way to roleplay imo.
Back to fetching quests here and there..
When facing an unknown force, it's logical to me that one should stick outside of big cities as much as possible and avoid human contact till things quiet down. If you already got to the Friendly Arm then you have three people you can count on and that's quite enough. No need to hire more and risk betrayal or unexpected business.
Hunt some gibberling, kill some bandits, do some minor quests that won't make you famous and for god's sake, stay away from Beregost, Nashkel and major cities because that's where you'll be expected. When you eventually get stronger in the wilderness, THEN give it a shot and crush those assassins when they cross your path.
Later in the game, you've reasons to do major quests and postpone the encounter with Sarevok.
First, you've gotten stronger so you can dismiss those assassins with more ease. Getting more famous is not gonna make a difference at this point because you are not afraid they'll find you. Just do your business and meet them with even stronger abilities as you progress.
Sarevok, however, is a whole different matter and you know that because he annihilated your powerful foster father and has many, MANY perks that you dunnot have. Progressing through the story shows how resourceful that guy is.
Rushing to him like a complete idiot will get you killed in all likeliness so you need to gear up and level up, even if that means going away for a while. Maybe the whole trip will turn out to be a bust, but MAYBE you'll also get a rare item that will allow you to have the upper hand with Sarevok. In other words, it's worth it you're lacking experience or items. You'll miss those during most of the game so it gives you time to reasonably wander.
To put it in a nutshell, the sense of urgency can't be helped if you accomplish nothing by getting there asap.
Seems obvious to me that everybody would turn Minsc down if they were truly RPing.
Or at least at the very first time he went berserk.
And that happens if you take too long to do his quest or if you run into the gnoll who talks about eating Dynaheir.
(Both of which happened to me on early run throughs of the game years ago before I understood about timers and still had Minsc down as "endearing" rather than infuriatingly annoying and bloody useless)
It makes more sense from an RP perspective, if playing paladin types, to go rescue the witch without him.