How to pick SoD and then BG2?

shevy123456 · April 25

So a bit of background. I have played mostly BG2; I install a lot of mods.

I tried to get into BG1 but I found it difficult; I kind of stopped early on.

I never really played SoD though. I heard it is not so bad.

Now ... I am thinking of starting with SoD, and then continuing from there into BG2. But
I haven't done so before. Are there any recommendations what to do here? Should I
pick SoD vanilla or try mods? My primary goal here is to play through SoD, anew (I
never played it before), but to then also use it to play BG2 afterwards, at once, though
with mods. I know BG2 quite well, so this part is fine, but I have no clue how to best
transition, and start with. For instance, will weapons be carried over? Has anyone
tried this? While I know BG2 quite well, I don't quite know EET that well, so ... any
recommendations or hints to be given here, may be nice. (If it is too difficult for now then I
will just try to understand EET better. Right now I don't know how this can work or
which incompatibilities exist. Perhaps I should start SoD solo, without caring for BG2,
but ideally I'd love to do a more extensive play through including both.)

atcDave · April 25

I would strongly recommend playing the whole game, starting with BG1 in Candlekeep. You haven’t really played Baldur’s Gate if you skipped BG1! I think it’s important to build your character from a rookie to really appreciate where BG2 will take you.

I would also say SoD has some fun moments, but it is clearly the weak link of the series. A few items carry over, they will be scattered around the BG2 world. Just like many BG1 items.

DinoDin · May 7

I agree with playing BG1. It does present a different difficulty than BG2, and it's especially hard at levels one and two. I would give it another shot. To beat the early game comfortably requires a little bit of strategic thinking.

One: Stick to the civilized areas early. Either the towns themselves or areas that are within one map square of a town. The Nashkel mines are absolutely designed to be beatable at level one. This also helps if something goes wrong and you need to resurrect a companion. Relying too much on save-scumming will make the game feel un-fun.

Two: Get a companion frontline tank. Find a companion with 16 or 17 dexterity that can wear heavy armor, and stack as many protection items on them. Keep them constantly in front while having four or five of your party members used ranged attacks. Clear hostile areas this way. Careful positioning matters much more in BG1 than BG2.

Three: Sleep, blindness and command. Rely on these spells in the early game. Most enemies you face are vulnerable to sleep and command. Every enemy you face will be vulnerable to blindness.

Four: Healing potions are one of the best early game item investments. A large stack of healing potions is one of the strongest items you can have in BG1. And it's better to have clerics memorize command. At level one, it can be very important to keep your party members at maximum health, i.e. it is worth it to "waste" healing potions even when not getting the full nine points recovered. At low HP levels the game gives you a "no one shot" status, meaning almost no enemy can kill your characters with one hit. Very helpful for fighting hard-hitting early game enemies like an ogre.

Lastly if you want to skip some difficult, tedious side areas of BG1, I recommend it on your first playthrough. It's not necessary to beat the Firewine dungeons, and the rewards for that sidequest are minimal. It's not necessary to beat Durlag's Tower either. You will still get the full experience of the story without those.

atcDave · May 7

@DinoDin I agree strongly about Firewine! Very tedious, little reward. Durlag;s Tower though, that's epic. Its a masterpiece. Although it is for a very late game party, near peak power.

I don't follow all your advice! There is more than one way to win it. But I agree strongly about having at least one good tank on point. Ideally a warrior with both constitution and dexterity bonuses. And use a shield early even if you'll fight with a different style later. That one guy on point can draw a lot of attention, a lot of attacks. So your archers and spell casters can do their thing and win the battle. Even better if its two guys on point.

DinoDin · May 9

Most of my points are geared towards simply surviving levels 1-3. Once you hit levels 4 and 5, a lot more options open up for how to arrange your party strategically. The low level combat is so unforgiving -- often just two hits will kill a character -- that I wanted to share what tends to work for my no reload attempts.

Durlag's is a high point in the whole saga, I agree, but it is also chock full of unique difficulties in BG1. I think it's fine for most players on their first run to just skip it. Especially if you have an eagerness to just get on with it and move on to BG2 (or SoD even). As I think OP might have.

FWIW, I will add, if OP found BG1 "too hard", I have to say, SoD is designed to be a difficult experience. It's specifically catering to veterans of the IE games. So, I'd again recommend trying to beat BG1 first. SoD also just makes a lot more sense plotwise if you beat BG1. The whole prologue section depends on you knowing what happened in the titular city.

How to pick SoD and then BG2?

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