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Playing for the first time ever. Should I go canon? (and some other questions)

jleyjley Member Posts: 1
edited August 2014 in General Discussion (Spoiler Warning!)
So, as the title says, first time ever i play BG! (about time lol)

First of all, I rolled a Fighter/Thief (Elf) 18(00)/19/17/10/10/15, long sword+, long bow++, one arm sword+ ( i kind of did this wrong as i started as an archer to then go full tank with shield).

Atm my party consist of me and Ajantis as tanks, Khalid and Lmoen as archers (I use Lmoen to open chest while i find traps), Neera as the mage, and Jhaeida as the healer, both of them with slings. I do not really understand at all the spells, some things about the damage etc.. so this is why i ask this:

I'm next to Minsc to start looking for Dynaheir so i can complete the canon party, however, i have red (yes, i shouldn't have lurk here so much being my first run ever) that Dynaheir can't learn some usefull buff spells, and Jhaeida will have some troubles as a healer later on.

So, should I complete the canon party, or keep Neera, use Jhaeira as the second tank, and find a better healer ditching Ajantis, Minsc and Dynaheir? Will I lose some quest if i don't use the canon party? I don't want to end leaving the game at the end because i end with a bad party being tedious, I want to end it at least one time!!

And about the capacities; where should i leave find traps, open chest etc.. at 100 or more? Once i have those complete, should i countinue with steal on Lmoen and find illusion with my char?

And to finish, as its my first run, should i know about some quest that i should do or something important that i might miss? ( without spoiling if possible xD)

Comments

  • MhamzaMhamza Member Posts: 228
    If you need help with what NPCs to take I highly recommend this guide:

    http://playithardcore.com/pihwiki/index.php?title=Baldur's_Gate:_NPC_Rundown
  • JLeeJLee Member Posts: 650
    edited August 2014
    I would try out a bunch of characters and stick with the ones that seen the most intriguing.

    I think a fighter/thief is a great choice. FYI , move silently and hide and shadows have the same effect.The game averages the two skills, so dont worry about selecting one vs. the other.

    Keep avoiding spoilers. Ignorance is bliss, at least in this case.
  • artificial_sunlightartificial_sunlight Member Posts: 601
    I have some things I did wrong my first full playtrough.
    - Use potions, don't hesitate if you need them you drink them (I ended with an inventory full of potions)
    - Don't read spoilers to much
    - Read your journal
    - Make a save before you talk to a grey man in Ulgoth's beard
    - Pick a chest in Friendly arm inn to store items you don't need but don't want to sell (for example letters, or that amazing War hammer that no one can use right now)
    - Spellcasting can be hard, I still use more offensive spells than buffs

    And general advise
    - watch out with Neera's spellcasting
    - only the EE NPC's have big sidequests, but you can easily keep them for the second playtrough (some of them are hard to keep alive)
    - Thieving skillpoints above 100 are not needed, and its a great idea to devide between you and Imoen (its imoen not Lmoen)
  • SedSed Member Posts: 790
    As mentioned above, don't worry about your party selection too much!
    I finished my first run back when BG was released with Imoen, Xzar & Montaron + Khalid & Jaheira. That was an fun mix of people ;)

    In short, don't mix good and evil NPC's - they will fight!

    When it comes to spell casting, don't focus on damage dealing at the start. Sleep (lvl 1 mage) will be your friend for the biggest part of BG1. Amazing spell.
  • KnellerKneller Member Posts: 438
    Like everyone else said, use whatever party you like. I think when I first started with the game, I used Ajantis almost every run. Give him the dex gauntlets and he was a very good party leader.

    I will say, though, that (nowadays) I almost exclusively do the canon party. First, I like the narrative consistency between the two games. Second, the canon party is pretty uber if you use them right. I actually think that, with the right strategy, Jah makes for a better tank and party leader than Ajantis. I wouldn't worry about Dynaheir's spell loss. She loses Enchantment/Charm. These schools are not totally useless, IMO, but losing them doesn't make the game any more challenging. However if still want to dabble in those schools, you could always dual class Imoen into a mage once her traps/locks are high enough. You don't need two thieves in the party, with you being a fighter/thief.

    So, yeah, +1 for the canon party. :)
  • Demonoid_LimewireDemonoid_Limewire Member Posts: 424
    Canon party is hard with steep learning curve. Dynaheir looses 2 schools. Khalid can become a good fighter with proper equipment. Jaheira's stats in 1 are mediocre... Minsc is good. And imoen is both a front face character (high charisma) and interesting thief (not too useful, though, mind you...).

    There are more powerful npcs out there. Like Yeslick, Coran, etc. Hm, i think Coran was nerfed compared to the original, but still, is strong enough. And if you care to become evil party, viconia and edwin always play hard. For yours and evil's sake.

    Some people say that making an entire party of your own creation would be better for your first time, while others claim this to be the case after you learnt the game and already had one or two playthroughs already.

    Keep the canon party then, since this is what you are already doing/considering to do, and just take care to utilize them correctly. Their lives hang out from a very fine thread...
  • LemernisLemernis Member, Moderator Posts: 4,318
    edited August 2014
    I would say just dive in and play, recruiting whomever strikes your fancy.

    With respect to combat you'll want at least around two frontline meleers, one full (as opposed to a half class or bard) arcane magic spellcaster (i.e., wizard, wild mage, sorcerer), one healer (druid or cleric; you can manage with a half class there), and a thief. For thieving all you really need is to be able to detect/remove traps and to pick locks; and you can usually manage that with a multi-class xxxx/thief. (There are potions that boost those thieving skills, by the way.)

    But anyway, don't feel bound to using the canon party is my advice. I mean, it's a great party and you'll probably enjoy it. But there's 28 NPCs to choose from!
  • the_spyderthe_spyder Member Posts: 5,018
    First of all, some great advice here. Don't worry about canon party. just go with what works. You will learn how to use what you have and then what works well together. Plus, your second and subsequent runs can be about canon or not.

    I do have to ask, what is 'canon' anymore. With the new NPCs in the mix, has canon changed at all? I really hope that canon isn't being designated by the book (don't kill me for invoking The Book). Just asking.
  • elminsterelminster Member, Developer Posts: 16,315
    edited August 2014
    Demonoid_Limewire said:

    Dynaheir looses 2 schools.

    Only if you are playing the original game. She doesn't in BGEE (she can't use enchantment spells but can use summoning spells).
  • the_spyderthe_spyder Member Posts: 5,018
    Another thing to consider when deciding to dump your current characters in favor of canon, is how much exploring you have done trying to find them. A lot of times I find that it takes me two levels to get to Nashkal (and I know my way) such that I end up with level 3 characters and Minsc at level 1. The disparity can be jarring and hamper your play through. If you fly straight south (after grabbing J&K) and then head straight out to pick up Day, you are pretty OK. But if you putz around looking things over, you might end up nerfed with the canon party. Just sayin...
  • InvictusCobraInvictusCobra Member Posts: 108
    If you want to play it safe, go with the canon party if you wish, as it has most needs covered for the rest of the game. Though feel free to explore with your party composition and don't think too hard on it. Just take who you feel is interesting/useful and if they would be someone your character would want to take with them on the adventure.
  • mlnevesemlnevese Member, Moderator Posts: 10,214
    @jley‌ Let me add my $0.02... Basically any party will work when you know what you're doing and you don't know when it's your first time playing. And that's a great source of fun! Trust me, do not spoil it by trying to learn too much before playing. Avoid most guides as if Asmodeus and Demogorgon were having a tea party in there.

    There are some threads in this forum you should avoid as well... The "Did you know?" one comes to mind... Actually even after playing this game since release, I still learned some new things in that thread...

    For a first run try to keep a balanced party, do not fear using your potions and wands and try things out do not fear trying new tactics and spell combinations. If it does not work, load and try something different.

    BTW did I mention save a lot? Keep many saves in different parts of the story so you can go back and try to do something in a different way.

    And if you get stuck, cry for help. There are a lot of nice people here who will be glad to point you in the right direction without revealing too much.
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