BG2EE No Reload Play'true' - advice appreciated!
Charlatan
Member Posts: 25
Oi !
So I just finished a BG1EE Playthrough in what I call a 'Playtrue' - hard mode, no reload, no metagame preparations (e.g. go into an ambush unbuffed even if you personally know the game will bring it)
Considering that I last played BG1 as a kid, it was surprisingly "easy" - I actually failed only once and voluntarily restarted once, not counting things like an instant one-hit-kill of CHARNAME lvl 2 by a mass bandit waylay before even the invis pot triggered, and glitches.
BG2 however is tearing me apart and I have no solid idea why. CHARNAME is, surprisingly, fine ! But the increased hp and damage pool seems to chunk my party members in an insanely frequent manner. In fact more often than normal deaths.
I am seeking advice on anything game mechanic related. Mechanics only that is - I want to prevent meta knowledge. I hardlt remember anything of traps and encounters and thats as it should be.
So I just finished a BG1EE Playthrough in what I call a 'Playtrue' - hard mode, no reload, no metagame preparations (e.g. go into an ambush unbuffed even if you personally know the game will bring it)
Considering that I last played BG1 as a kid, it was surprisingly "easy" - I actually failed only once and voluntarily restarted once, not counting things like an instant one-hit-kill of CHARNAME lvl 2 by a mass bandit waylay before even the invis pot triggered, and glitches.
BG2 however is tearing me apart and I have no solid idea why. CHARNAME is, surprisingly, fine ! But the increased hp and damage pool seems to chunk my party members in an insanely frequent manner. In fact more often than normal deaths.
I am seeking advice on anything game mechanic related. Mechanics only that is - I want to prevent meta knowledge. I hardlt remember anything of traps and encounters and thats as it should be.
1
Comments
What is required to enter ambushs/fights unbuffed? Or do you take basic precautions more often than not?
Do you avoid enemies like Kangaxx?
=> My party only flees when things really go badly. What they very often do is a short-distance retreat to assess the situation, often with stealth, invisibility, or wizard's eye.
=> The requirement for ambushes I set for myself is also based on RP. For example, my party sure did buff themselves before storming the Iron Throne HQ and at any point inside Durlag's Tower, but I didn't use any special precaution at the Iron Throne leader fight in Candlekeep - the party couldnt know where they are.
=> My party tries to explore almost everything, so encounters will hardly be avoided.
In BG1 you could retreat, this isn't possible in BG2 when it comes to 90% of the fights.
You will not make it through this playthrough without dying if you're going to ignore your knowledge of the game. This was possible in BG1 but not so in BG2. You'll die from traps that will instantly kill you, entering one of the houses with the liches will be instant death, and you will enter these because they are normal houses and doesn't stand out.
The party in the Sewers can easily slay you early on if you don't pay them, same with the party in the Temple district. There are so many powerful groups scattered around BG2 that you'll run in to, so without knowledge you won't make it.
Anyone who tries to convince you that they have completed a BG2 playthrough without using knowledge of the game is either lying, or have ignored 70% of the content and been so lucky (winning the lottery lucky) that they haven't entered certain houses, and let's be honest, no one here will believe that.
Your first encounter with a vampire or mindflayer will be the end of you as you don't know how to protect yourself, and you will die from level or intelligence drain.
You can survive only if you pretend at least one of your party member has an high lore, and he will be able to spot signs of enemies (when there're signs) and to tell you wich are enemies' weaknesses and how to defende yourself from them.
I.e. It's not metagaming when you open a coffin protected from undead, but it's metagaming if you enter a hidden door in a tavern protected from undead.
I will try nevertheless !
It is easy to underestimate the situation and logic applied of the Character. You have to imagine it from their PoV - with their life and that of their friends on the brink.
It is mathematically impossible for CHARNAME to survive BG1 without applying varying portions of:
1) Cleverness
2) Luck
3) Cowardice
4) Grinding XP a lot (< shame on you !)
The game is filled to the brim with overpowered and over-leveled enemies, even the first batch of these - the assassins in most of the inns - will obliterate any quest-appropriate party if you rush them head on, unless you have a massive backstab, think fast and improvise, or are extremely lucky.
Even if he/she is a naive kid that didn't pay any attention in Candlekeep, CHARNAME is bound to learn much from all that.
Because nobody reads them, many people don't know that both BG1 and BG2 actually include dialogue and books that explain enemies to you. One example is a book from Elminster found in 1st level Watchers Keep.
@SionIV As for the vampire, having run into a hostile encounter with vamp+thieves like that already, my party actually attacked one of the stronger vampires (immune to +1) in Athkatla that wouldn'Ät normally turn hostile, won, without Negative Plane Protection or too much luck I might add.
A character can gain knowledge, can improvise and, if there is time, plan ahead. I think the worst situations will (beside mindflayers) actually be the places where the game itself breaks the rules (which SCS seems to fix to a degree)
PS:
There is a house that instantly kills you ? o_O
@typo_tilly
Yes placing Tarnesh there in F.A.I. is a really evil step by the developers. Running into him unprepared repeatedly, was actually the thing that most grated on my confidence against metagaming.
Shoal is a strange case. I think if I want to take it really seriously, I would have to go back to BG1 and roll a 1d6 to randomly choose the character that approaches her. If its the non-resurrectable Bhaalspawn, too bad. However the game doesn'Ät even allow you a chance to retreat, even if you click the proper dialogue option. It think this would really push it.
So not instantly kill you, but you won't survive.
My party is not insane. If they enter a narrow, confined crypt and have no clue whats going on, they won't blindly rush the next mystical undead creature that instantly slabs itself full with countless visible magical protections. Would you ?
There is, however, a good chance they try to fight it in the open area in front of the Inn, and logically fail.
Still you gave me one thing to think about. Actually, my chars are pretty much allowed RPwise to protect themselves against vampires ! Why would the druids and clerics train and study, or even invent, a Spell they have no clue about what it does ?
If Anomen, Viconia or Jaheira can skillfully cast Negative Plane Protection, it's very likely they also know what it is used for.
Scrolls and Spells learned from them are, of course, a different matter.
I'll wish you good luck but just be prepared that this is a completely different game compared to BG1 when you look at the difficulty.
Of course you'll have to try, and I'm sure you'll find a way to handle it.
You'll love it, but you'll also hate it when you'll find yourself spending many hours to kill one enemy
Remember one thing: never understimate anything!!!
Give each character an item of summoning, that will help a lot because it works almost instantly. Give to as many characters as possible a good wand and have enough gold to be able to recharge them. Always use wands at the start of a battle, they're great.
Also, be prepared to deal the proper type of damage at all times. Blunt damage is generally king in bg2 the same way ranged weapons are in bg1 (i know this infoarmtion is spoilerish but it's essential)
It's a notorious fact that you meet beholders in bg2. They are the worst. They'll end your run for sure if you don't use a specific (obvious) solution that itself is pretty lame and even cheesy but it can't be helped. Don't go near them before you're ready. There is another tactic that isn't lame but you probably won't live long enough to dicover it without meta knowledge.
Use maze spell often. People normally avoid this but it is a smart thing to do in a hardcore run. Also remember that enemy mages have low hp, that's a crucial fact.
Your post is just what I wanted - elaborates well on game mechanics without unnecessary meta information.
For now my party is well and alive. de'Arnise Hold is liberated, though with the little "accident" that we blasted Nalia's hopelessly vile aunt to bits. Im surprised she didn't get angry at that, though I'm also surprised at the more than average reputation loss. She was Lawful Evil if anyone was, and barely different to a slaver in my Chaotic Good eyes.
That troll boss is a brute though. If CHARNAME hadn't sneaked ahead and we ran into that one unprepared, he'd have chunked my tanks for sure, seeing how he smashed our summoned skelli.