Tips For Noobie?
unkinhead
Member Posts: 107
My friend recently started playing BG2 and he is having a hard time...What tips do you suggest i give him?
I told him:
_Get Keldorn...he is the number #1 NPC imo... Keldorn's True Sight and Dispel Effects + Casomyr makes life so easy. And of course Gauntlets of Dexterity
-Mages are the most useful class, and spells like Breach, Pierce Shield, Warding Whip, etc are extremely important.
-Stoneskin + Mirror Image is OP
-Don't use proficiency slots on: daggers, clubs, short swords, etc if you are a fighter type.
-Thief is super important
-Rest Rest Rest, Save Save Save
-Your gonna want some bags of holding/Potion Cases etc,
-Try to save things...like scrolls, potions etc.
-The game is much easier when all powerful classes are represented: Cleric (Mostly this one)/Druid, Fighter/Paladin/Ranger, Mage, Thief
Thats all i could think of off the top of my head...Any other very important things he should know?
I told him:
_Get Keldorn...he is the number #1 NPC imo... Keldorn's True Sight and Dispel Effects + Casomyr makes life so easy. And of course Gauntlets of Dexterity
-Mages are the most useful class, and spells like Breach, Pierce Shield, Warding Whip, etc are extremely important.
-Stoneskin + Mirror Image is OP
-Don't use proficiency slots on: daggers, clubs, short swords, etc if you are a fighter type.
-Thief is super important
-Rest Rest Rest, Save Save Save
-Your gonna want some bags of holding/Potion Cases etc,
-Try to save things...like scrolls, potions etc.
-The game is much easier when all powerful classes are represented: Cleric (Mostly this one)/Druid, Fighter/Paladin/Ranger, Mage, Thief
Thats all i could think of off the top of my head...Any other very important things he should know?
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Comments
I know Keldorn is uber powerful and all, but I have 2 problems with him...
1) I find Dispel a bit tricky to use, cos I use buffs and protections a lot, and Dispel can strip those as well. So I prefer mage penetration spells, which is more reliable and party friendly.
2) Keldorn's starting location and associated quest can be quite nasty (unless u tell him to buy Shield of Balduran). That random 'sewer bandit' adventuring party near him is pretty nasty for a beginner to deal with.
So it depends on if he intends to play blind. If so, I think Anomen is easier to recruit/use for a beginner. If he plans to use a walkthrough anyway, u might as well direct him to Keldorn and the Unseeing Eye. He could always circle around the bandits until his party is a bit higher level.
Still though, dispel effects is kind of just a bonus. It's True Sight that is the real asset. It should be named "Improved True Sight" Because it really is so much better than regular true sight simply because the casting time is so low compared to the mage/priest spell.
If BG1 is no option, I wouldn't recommend to go instantly for Keldorn. His quest and area is one of the more challenging ones. Assuming he plays good or neutral, I'd recommend to first get Anomen and Nalia - her quest is nice and beginner friendly and has some decent loot that makes life easier (Flail of Ages and the weapons from the golem room can also help a lot). If he keeps Jaheira and Minsc, that's a solid party to do D'Arnise Keep and get a level or two under his belt.
You just don't want us to kill your kin in the Temple District :P
just kiddin'... I agree with what the Beholder says.
Nah, I gotta disagree. As somebody who (relatively recently) got into this game, unless he's already familiar with AD&D magic through PnP, he's much better off learning it one step at a time.
Not to mention the fact that the beginning of BG 2 is just weird/confusing if u don't have a clue who Minsc, Dynaheira, Imoen and Jaheira are. Yes u can pretend amnesia... but it's not the same.
Other than that, knowing how to buff and how to enfeeble enemies is key. The trap I fell in to my first BG2 playthrough was loading up on healing spells instead of spells that prevent the need to heal in the first place. Certain combos are killer: stinking cloud and undead summons, web and free action, that sort of thing. It's the same thing with a lot of old CRPGs, you have to know how to game the system.
1. Ignore everything you will read on forums
2. Just create a character and have fun
3. A balanced party includes representatives for thieving, arcane magic, divine magic and physical damage. Any mixed character will be fine.
4. Explore outside the main storyline
Tip number two: shut up and let him figure it out. I mean no offense, but most of us figured it out on our own, and that's the best way to play the game. If prattle off a list of 100 things you should and shouldn't do, he not remember any of them, and he won't have any fun. Jut tell him to save a lot, and answer specific questions.
BG is not necessarily easier. But it is a LOT simpler. I had many more reloads in BG 1 than BG 2, cos my party was much squishier, and mistakes were more likely to be lethal, but when I died in BG 1, most of the time, I knew exactly why, and when I won, I also knew exactly why, so there is a logical learning process.
In BG 2 there's several deaths where I don't know what happened, and also many victories where I still aren't sure what made the difference.
Yes! That ^^
I was recording my gameplay, so that helped a bit, but then the log is also not complete. I never quite confirmed what perma-killed Anomen, despite reviewing my video.
All I got was:
Abazigal did 125 damage to Sir Anomen
Sir Anomen - Death
(And removed from party, leaving behind a charred corpse)
Now I know it was most likely Blue Dragon Lightning Breath, which I saw deal 103 damage to a Fire Elemental later on.
The downside of these games I guess, I sort of feel I did the right choice of picking a sorceror and just being stood back with permanent stoneskin/ imp. invisibility on.
Come to think of it, I'll need to watch your vids. Especially if you were drawing from the Lilly Black ones as they were so creative and fun to watch.
lol... poor Ano, he honestly grew on me over the course of the playthrough.
Anyway I may have been inspired by Tord (Mynameisnotlilly)... but I am a far inferior LP'er, much like how Messi also inspires me to kick a football occasionally
Check it out at your peril... It took me about 20-30 videos to learn to read the lines, then somewhere in the Planar Sphere I finally bought a headset instead of just using my laptop mic. I finally learnt to remove white noise and improve video quality during the processing stage somewhere in the Underdark... so yeah... you've been warned. lol
Where I am faithful to Tord's BG LPs is that I also played blind, without powergaming min/max'd characters, very strict on reloading, and made decisions based on roleplay. So whilst he refused to do certain quests cos Lilly refused to help people without the promise of a reward, Jin didn't do some quests because he felt they were too trivial and insignificant compared to the greater and urgent perils that he and the Sword Coast faced.
ANYWAY... back to topic.
I forgot to say that I totally agree with @meagloth. A blind playthrough is the best way to get the most out of your first time and really immerse yourself in the plot, so by all means help him with any specific questions like "WHY can't I hurt this Clay Golem?!! T_T"... but don't tell him "Go to the D'Arnise Keep, get the FoA, go to Windspear Hill, get Carsomyr." If he misses out on stuff, like I did with Carsomyr, Belm and Ring of Gaxx, he can always find them in the second playthrough. This game deserves multiple runs, and I am more motivated to do it partly because I missed stuff the first time.
Also, whilst I like @Onestep's illustrated guide... it is a bit simplistic :P I think learning the magic system properly and developing your own strategy is hugely rewarding. Besides, you won't have Horrid Wiltings in great abundance, and resting for every little battle is hugely cheesy.
I went back and played BG1 and it all fell into place because you get abilities gradually and you have time to experiment and see what they all do. The start of BG2 is a very confusing place to start IMO. And i completely agree with the last comment: answer specific questions but don't give tips on "go there" or "do that".
1. If they haven't played BG1, I'd start there. That way you get a progression towards the tougher monsters and wizards.
2. Pause the game OFTEN. I'd personally go with auto-pause, but not everyone wants to play that way. Still, when things show up on screen, pause. That gives you the chance to plan what you are doing and how to react. If someone goes down (enemy or ally) pause. If you see a trap, pause. if the enemy uses area of effect spells, pause. If someone needs healing, pause. Pause, pause, pause.
3. Play "Good". The Evil NPCs are fun and powerful, but you will get a lot more loot and XP playing straight good. Ok, this isn't 100% true, but to a noob, it will be. Sure once you know what is what, you can milk evil for all the world. But the most obvious path to wealth and power is the good one.
4. Take it slow. Explore EVERYTHING. Open every chest and box. Kill all of the baddies. open every door. look around.
5. Experiment with what you have. You will need spell casters, so fully explore all of their spells and how they react. There are some real gems in there (and some duds).
6. Join in this community. Lots of us have loads of advice (and some of it is actually good advice).
7. If an enemy is too powerful, leave them till later. Coming back with more levels and better items can make the difference most times.
8. Vampires drain levels. This will be a real PITA most times, so be FULLY prepared every time you might encounter them.
9. Don't tackle Liches until you really know what you are doing. They can be fun and rewarding enemies, but they are meant to be tough and will lunch a noob almost every time.
10. Pay attention to the damage you are doing, and what is being done to you. This will give you an idea about what protections you need to deal with and what might be helpful to you against similar enemies.
11. Scout, scout, scout. You can never have too much information about what is just ahead of you. Get someone who has good hiding skills or is invisible and look around BEFORE you go blundering in. This will save your bacon a LOT.
12. Watch for traps. They may not kill you, but they will leave you weakened and vulnerable to someone who will.
13. Ranged weapons and spells are extremely useful. Let the enemy do the closing while you pepper them with arrows. These may not kill anyone, but the more damage you do, the less you have to do later on.
ok, nuff...