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Best time to explore Watcher's Keep?

MoonheartMoonheart Member Posts: 520
in Baldur's Gate II: Enhanced Edition
What is the right time for you to explore Watcher's Keep during a playthrough?
During SoA ? ToB? At which chapter?

Comments

  • naggertnaggert Member Posts: 65
    edited March 2016
    After SoA but before ToB.... (somewhat before chapter 7 and Suldanessellar).
    Once you reach hell it's to late.
    Mainly because I much prefer SoA over ToB.

    Once you go ToB you can't go back to SoA. However, you can do Watcher's Keep during both.
  • SkatanSkatan Member, Moderator Posts: 5,352
    I sometimes do the first floor quite early (levels 10-13, quite early SoA), then usually get out of there and return later. There's a couple of nice items to speed up the starting phase of the game if you have already played the game a gazillion times (quiver, usono's blade inside and firetooth and ss of mask outside etc).
  • DevardKrownDevardKrown Member Posts: 421
    right after i collected my party i go and do LvL1 , just grab all those nifty Items like the quiver , the +3dart, after that i fight my way down as i see fit/Able to do it.
  • dunbardunbar Member Posts: 1,603
    Basically I do it a bit at a time. It's kind of self-balancing: The levels get harder as you go down so the answer is to try it out and see how you get on. Save before you go in, try the first level and if you get your backside kicked reload the save and return later. If you don't get your backside kicked on level one keep going down (obviously one level at a time, saving after each level) until blood loss forces you to retreat.

    Once you have completed the first level you can come and go to WK as often as you like, whenever you like.
  • AKrugBierAKrugBier Member Posts: 110
    edited March 2016
    On topic of Watchers Keep, does anyone know if there is a NPC or item in BG2 which informs the party of CHARNAME about Watchers Keep? Because I can't come up with a RP reason to visit the place other than we wandered aimlessly through the forest for 20 days and accidentally found this big dungeon, LOL!
  • dunbardunbar Member Posts: 1,603
    Good point, must have been satnav screwing up again.
  • DevardKrownDevardKrown Member Posts: 421
    AKrugBier wrote: »
    On topic of Watchers Keep, does anyone know if there is a NPC or item in BG2 which informs the party of CHARNAME about Watchers Keep? Because I can't come up with a RP reason to visit the place other than we wandered aimlessly through the forest for 20 days and accidentally found this big dungeon, LOL!

    you are summoned by a Messenger i think
  • MoonheartMoonheart Member Posts: 520
    edited March 2016
    Is there a difference xp-wise to do it during SoA, or during ToB?
  • dunbardunbar Member Posts: 1,603
    edited March 2016
    @Moonheart Only in terms of the difference that the XP (which is quite high for SoA) makes to the speed at which you level up (by ToB the XP isn't so relevant as it comes in bucket loads by then).
  • MoonheartMoonheart Member Posts: 520
    I was thinking that since the xp total of the companions reset by ToB's start, it could be better to do Watcher's Keep after.
  • JuliusBorisovJuliusBorisov Member, Administrator, Moderator, Developer Posts: 22,725
    Moonheart wrote: »
    I was thinking that since the xp total of the companions reset by ToB's start, it could be better to do Watcher's Keep after.

    It resets only for those companions who weren't in your party at the end of SoA. The party members move to ToB exactly as they are at the end of SoA.

    I advice to look at https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/23057/when-do-you-do-watchers-keep (it was a poll) to get others' views on this topic.
  • MoonheartMoonheart Member Posts: 520
    I wonder if I should send my Children of Fire there before or after Irenicus final fight, in fact...
  • prairiechickenprairiechicken Member Posts: 149
    I always do it right after going out of saradush, doing it in soa feels too much like cheating
  • sansserifsansserif Member Posts: 125
    edited March 2016
    You can do the first level in Chapter 2 (get that ammo belt). I completed almost all of the fourth level by Chapter 3, but it was a little hard. It would be simply easier to complete the four levels by Chapter 6 and the final levels after the Saradush chapter in ToB.
  • Clumsy_DwarfClumsy_Dwarf Member Posts: 112
    edited March 2016
    I usually do level 1 once I have all the members of my party togeether. There is jut too many good items there and it is relatively easy. Once I have geared out folks, I tackle level 2 and maybe 3 if I am almost ready to go to Chapters 3&4. I usually save the rest for ToB.
  • JarrakulJarrakul Member Posts: 2,029
    I invariably wait until Throne of Bhaal to do Watcher's Keep. I find doing it earlier just destroys the game's power curve and makes much of the game a lot less fun for me.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 0
    Like others, I like to grab the ammunition aids on the first level early in Chapter 2. When I time my deeper delve depends on whether I'm planning on picking up the ToB NPC. If so, I wait so that he can get in on that XP. If not, I'll usually do it in Chapter 6.
  • MoonheartMoonheart Member Posts: 520
    I have no passed the point in my current playthrough where I needed to know where go for Watcher's Keep, but thanks for every answer, they have been helpful
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