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Would you be interested in another expansion to Baldur's Gate 2 EE?

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  • Oswald81Oswald81 Member Posts: 63
    ThacoBell said:

    Oswald81 said:

    Yes, TOB was very anticlimatic. I expected it to be awesome, instead it was lame.

    Anticlimactic!? You kill a god!
    Nah, Amellysan was not a god. And I expected more. I'm not alone in considering this expansion half-baked. Just read the average review about the expansion. It would read SoA is a top game for the western RPG, TOB grows stale after a few levels at 3 million or more xp.
  • jsavingjsaving Member Posts: 1,083
    edited January 2019
    ToB was way too linear and the battle with Melissan was terminally dull, another example of a dev thinking "let's add hit points to the enemy" somehow makes things more interesting. ToB does have its role-playing moments, though (like the conversation with Cyric) and the post-Melissan material certainly provides a memorable conclusion to the BG saga.
    Post edited by jsaving on
    Oswald81
  • ThacoBellThacoBell Member Posts: 12,235
    Oswald81 said:

    ThacoBell said:

    Oswald81 said:

    Yes, TOB was very anticlimatic. I expected it to be awesome, instead it was lame.

    Anticlimactic!? You kill a god!
    Nah, Amellysan was not a god. And I expected more. I'm not alone in considering this expansion half-baked. Just read the average review about the expansion. It would read SoA is a top game for the western RPG, TOB grows stale after a few levels at 3 million or more xp.
    Oh yeah, she only had mountains of divine essence and god-power. Pfff totally mortal and normal.

    As for reviews, I don't care for them. I had a lot a of fun with ToB and that's all that matters with a game.
    StummvonBordwehrGirewanlolienTimbo0o0o0
  • Oswald81Oswald81 Member Posts: 63
    ThacoBell said:

    Oswald81 said:

    ThacoBell said:

    Oswald81 said:

    Yes, TOB was very anticlimatic. I expected it to be awesome, instead it was lame.

    Anticlimactic!? You kill a god!
    Nah, Amellysan was not a god. And I expected more. I'm not alone in considering this expansion half-baked. Just read the average review about the expansion. It would read SoA is a top game for the western RPG, TOB grows stale after a few levels at 3 million or more xp.
    Oh yeah, she only had mountains of divine essence and god-power. Pfff totally mortal and normal.

    As for reviews, I don't care for them. I had a lot a of fun with ToB and that's all that matters with a game.
    I have had a good enough time, but I expected more that I got. Weak 4/10. Watcher's Keep drags it up to acceptable.
  • KuronaKurona Member Posts: 881
    It's pretty evident the devs had no time to make the Throne of Bhaal they really envisioned due to how quickly you have to release an expansion before players are done with the base game and switch to something else. It doesn't help that the hard drives weren't as beefy as they are now and for many people installing a new game meant uninstalling the old ones.

    Anyways to answer the actual question I'd be perfectly happy with an expansion, as long as it's not related to the main story. A side adventure like Tales of the Sword Coast would be right up my alley. Fortunately we already have mods to do that, like Back to Brynnlaw, The Sellswords or @LavaDelVortel Colours of Infinity series of mods (love your work) but an official one wouldn't hurt at all.
    Oswald81
  • ThacoBellThacoBell Member Posts: 12,235
    The thing is, there is already SO MUCH content in BG2 that outleveling everything the game can throw at you is incredibly easy. New quests and whatnot would just end up wrecking the already battered level curve. Any new content should focus on fixing plot holes *cough*soultaker*cough* or giving us new ways to play, like new npcs and classes.
    Torgrimmer
  • TorgrimmerTorgrimmer Member Posts: 331
    ThacoBell said:

    The thing is, there is already SO MUCH content in BG2 that outleveling everything the game can throw at you is incredibly easy. New quests and whatnot would just end up wrecking the already battered level curve. Any new content should focus on fixing plot holes *cough*soultaker*cough* or giving us new ways to play, like new npcs and classes.

    Agree i think the only thing that could be added to BG:EE2 at this point is "soultaker" and what their doing already with the portrait and voice pack DLC to BG:EE2 and maybe some strongholds and classes but that is all.
    ThacoBell
  • masteralephmasteraleph Member Posts: 270
    Yes, but not to the end.  As others have said- something that fleshes out TOB would be lovely.  I know that Beamdog can't really alter the original characters, but I would love to see more development for some of them as well- much more interested in a substantial dialogue pack than in a portrait and voice pack.
  • ilduderinoilduderino Member Posts: 773
    edited January 2019
    I would most like the SOD NPCs to be brought into BG2 and would pay for this. Appreciate this is very unlikely though.
    ThacoBell
  • AmmarAmmar Member Posts: 1,295
    I don't think it would fit in the game. With ToB there is already severe loot inflation and there is no level range left to cover.
  • masteralephmasteraleph Member Posts: 270
    Ammar said:
    I don't think it would fit in the game. With ToB there is already severe loot inflation and there is no level range left to cover.
    Depends on the number of characters you have.  I've never gotten a 6 member party to the TOB level cap (or, I'm pretty sure, over 7 million).
  • keturiduketuridu Member Posts: 10
    Yes. Agree with any conditions. Any kind of mod, new game or additions. I play Baldur series for ~18 years. Enjoyed SoD, would enjoy any other implementations.

    AedanKurona
  • JediMindTrixJediMindTrix Member Posts: 305
    Hell yea. I loved SoA
    Oswald81StummvonBordwehrThacoBell
  • SteveRogers41SteveRogers41 Member Posts: 33
    Most definitely. I enjoyed Siege of Dragonspear so much that I want a similar treatment for BG2, even if all it can add is new characters and quests, since there's not much room for more story. Would love for them to bring back the voice actors for some of my favorite characters like Haer'Dalis, Anomen, and Cernd. This would also be the perfect way for us to get more Caelar Argent, and possibly some closure with Corwin and the other SOD NPCs. I wouldn't hesitate to drop money for BG2 DLC. 
  • GloomfrostGloomfrost Member Posts: 261
    Of course yes, with lots of new items :)
  • gorgonzolagorgonzola Member Posts: 3,864
    i think that the saga is quite complete just as it is, and even if i don't own SoD so i can not talk about its quality, that i suppose is good even if i don't read the related section of the forums cause i want to not be spoiled when i will purchase it and play it for the first time, i think that it introduced a problem.
    it seems to me that starting with the xp you reach there instead of the one importing from bg or starting in soa makes chap 2 too easy, it was created for toons starting with less than 100k xp, starting with 5x of that makes many fights probably too easy.

    i think that new quests, items and npcs are better introduced by mods, sadly it seems to me that at now the focus of modders is mainly in creating mods that change the game mechanics, i am thinking at mods like ScS or the ones that @subtledoctor creates. fantastic mods, but mods that serve a different purpose.
    we still have the conversion of many old quest mods and npc ones, some of them imo are of really good quality and if new items are needed Boards O' Magick Item Pack and Item Upgrade are there, some quest mod also introduce new interesting items.

  • jsavingjsaving Member Posts: 1,083
    I'd most like to see a BG3 in which a new CHARNAME joins BG1/BG2's existing NPCs to stop a new threat to the Sword Coast. That kind of game could be very new-user-friendly while still throwing out some Easter eggs to BG1/BG2 fans. Given spiking demand for D&D at the moment, the timing couldn't be better for a game like this (and one suspects Gaider probably knew it, though we'll never know for sure).

    I'd least like to see yet another mini-expansion to BG1/BG2 that requires previous purchase of BG1/BG2 to play. Not that I'd mind having some new content for the umpteenth run-through of those games, but that's small potatoes compared to what a new game could bring to the table.
    [Deleted User]gorgonzola
  • DJKajuruDJKajuru Member Posts: 3,300
    thief wrote: »
    Nah. Bhaalspawn had some spare time between Iron Throne crisis and Athkatla, so there is a place for BG1 expansion (from timelines point of view). But I don't see such a gap between SOA and ToB.

    Actually, there is a small gap . ToB's prologue shows that , after killing Irenicus and saving Suldanesselar , glimpses of Bhaal's prophecy start to pop around the sword coast , and ultimately you are forced to go back to Ellesime and ask for guidance. That can be easily adapted to a short expansion ,can't it?
    gorgonzolaAedan[Deleted User]StummvonBordwehr
  • AmmarAmmar Member Posts: 1,295
    DJKajuru wrote: »
    thief wrote: »
    Nah. Bhaalspawn had some spare time between Iron Throne crisis and Athkatla, so there is a place for BG1 expansion (from timelines point of view). But I don't see such a gap between SOA and ToB.

    Actually, there is a small gap . ToB's prologue shows that , after killing Irenicus and saving Suldanesselar , glimpses of Bhaal's prophecy start to pop around the sword coast , and ultimately you are forced to go back to Ellesime and ask for guidance. That can be easily adapted to a short expansion ,can't it?

    Doesn't it say you stay at Suldanesselar between BG2 and ToB? I don't think you travel.


    But I think the more is added at this point the more the original balance of the game is destroyed by you being over-levelled.

    The balance in SoA was already upset by ToB retroactively removing the XP cap, because originally you did not have Level 9 spells or HLAs when facing Irenicus at the Tree of Life.

    SoD made it even worse due to starting with 500k XP, which means you are all always around one full higher than what the game was designed for (maybe more due to level scaling of some encounters yielding even more XP at higher level).

    I could see it being done, but only when rebalancing large parts of the game & important mods, which might be too much for many players.
    ThacoBellgorgonzola
  • ThacoBellThacoBell Member Posts: 12,235
    @Ammar I mostly agree with your post, but I don't think SoD upset's the game balance much at all. Most quests scale, and in many instances being just one level higher and triggering the high level spawn makes things MUCH tougher. The only real content that the higher starting exp makes easier is the very early quests that don't have scaling spawns. Like the circus tent or copper coronet slaver stuff. And those were already very easy for veterens.
    StummvonBordwehr
  • AmmarAmmar Member Posts: 1,295
    ThacoBell wrote: »
    @Ammar I mostly agree with your post, but I don't think SoD upset's the game balance much at all. Most quests scale, and in many instances being just one level higher and triggering the high level spawn makes things MUCH tougher. The only real content that the higher starting exp makes easier is the very early quests that don't have scaling spawns. Like the circus tent or copper coronet slaver stuff. And those were already very easy for veterens.

    But I think it is mostly only the more minor combats that scale, not the more challenging end of quest encounters.

    E.g. for the Ranger stronghold: you may encounter a lich during the quest if you are high level, but the Shade Lord and the Shadow Dragon at the end are always the same. Generally, my feeling is that the more challenging encounters are the not scaled.
  • gorgonzolagorgonzola Member Posts: 3,864
    edited March 2019
    about the fast leveling there are also other factors to be considered, a small party gain xp faster than a full one, as well as a party that does all the possible quests gains more xp than an other that focuses on the main goal only, there are ways to squeeze more xp than it is supposed. and i gave my power leveling strategy that, in a completely legit way, allows a full party to grow at almost the rate of a small one.
    https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/68460/effective-leveling-strategy-for-the-party-my-way

    there are mods for the original game that let you slow the xp gaining, i suppose that they are ported to EE even if i am not sure about it, for those that don't like a too fast grow using them can be a solution.
    also avoiding to roll uber stats for charname and de selecting the option of max hp gain on level up can really help, often is overlooked how that more hp makes the game A LOT easier. every time your toons win a battle, but with few hp left, would have been a loss or at lest some toons to resurrect.

    i don't feel that something happening between soa and tob and the more xp given by it would ber a problem cause the level a party has at the endo of soa is not set, is depending on the player's choices and can be very different depending on those choices.

    but i suppose that the boost gotten importing from SoD can be a problem for those that like to solo some classes in the early soa. i was able to solo my sorcerer or my fmt trough the tactics mod chateau irenicus but it was a real challenge, and many others did it, nothing special :).
    but soloing spellcasters or multi charnames at less than 100k xp have way less options then when they start at 500k. is true that the enemies scale, at least the not boss ones, but what some solo charnames can do scales as well and probably scales faster, a 500k xp mage or sorcerer or bard can solo a dragon if well played, il probably 20x more powerful than one starting from soa even if his xp is only 6x.
    Ammar wrote: »

    Doesn't it say you stay at Suldanesselar between BG2 and ToB? I don't think you travel.


    true, but an expansion where ellesime gives to charname a task can be compatible with it.
    charname, the savior of the elf town, resides in it, but this does not mean in any way that while doing it he can not leave suldanessalar for short periods of time to accomplish some missions. he is an adventurer and having him idle there after he recovered from the hard battles of soa does not fit with it.
  • ThacoBellThacoBell Member Posts: 12,235
    @Ammar I wouldn't really call the Shade Lord difficult. You either have the special bullets that kill him almost instantly, or you can't win. The extra one or two levels you get don't make much difference for dragona either.
  • gorgonzolagorgonzola Member Posts: 3,864
    ThacoBell wrote: »
    I wouldn't really call the Shade Lord difficult. You either have the special bullets that kill him almost instantly, or you can't win.
    special bullets? i am not aware of them, tell me more:)


  • Eltharion1979Eltharion1979 Member Posts: 92
    Yes, it will be great! But I cant imagine how the story will continue...the story ends really well. Anyway, what I really like to see is Icewind Dale 2 Enhanced Edition!
  • ThacoBellThacoBell Member Posts: 12,235
    gorgonzola wrote: »
    ThacoBell wrote: »
    I wouldn't really call the Shade Lord difficult. You either have the special bullets that kill him almost instantly, or you can't win.
    special bullets? i am not aware of them, tell me more:)


    You had to have them. I'm pretty sure the shade altar can't be killed without them.
  • gorgonzolagorgonzola Member Posts: 3,864
    @ThacoBell if you refer to the ones that you find where you talk with amuana you are wrong as i never did use them in any of my runs. probably you need a certain level of weapon enchanting and maybe the altar is also immune to spells under a certain level, but both in my vanilla and tactics mod runs i usually kill the altar with mlee weapons.
    i must check if i have some save to test it and tell you more about it, maybe @semiticgod, @Grond0 or other bg2 super expert can tell you more about it.
    ThacoBell
  • semiticgoddesssemiticgoddess Member Posts: 14,903
    The Sunstone Bullets are found in two locations. I forget the first one, but the second is in one of the rooms after the puzzle in which you walk across the board spelling out "AMAUNATOR," the room with the Bone Golem. It's in the same container as a required symbol component and one or two level 6 mage scrolls.

    The Sunstone Bullets instantly destroy the Shadow Altar and any creature which belongs to the "Plate" race, but the Shadow Altar is the only creature with that race. There is no saving throw; it's automatic death to the Shadow Altar the moment you land a hit with a single Sunstone Bullet.
    StummvonBordwehrgorgonzolaThacoBell
  • gorgonzolagorgonzola Member Posts: 3,864
    @semiticgod i did not know it as i never used those bullets, but as i told is possible to destroy it also without them, eroding its hp like against every other foe. do you have certain data about the enchantment level needed for weapons and on eventual immunity it has form spells?
  • semiticgoddesssemiticgoddess Member Posts: 14,903
    @gorgonzola: The altar has 75% magic resistance, 75% physical damage resistance, 100 HP, -1 AC, immunity to nonmagical weapons, and undead-style immunities to disablers, at least in SCS. Any magical weapon can hit it. But since only a single Sunstone Bullet is needed to kill it, the only time you'd ever need to defeat it normally would be if you playing a poverty run, a solo Kensai, a solo Cavalier, or a character who had absolutely abysmal THAC0 with slings.

    Basically, using the Sunstone Bullet is always the best option. I learned this from reading about @Blackraven's runs.
    gorgonzola
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