So Baldur's Gate...any advice?

[80Maxwell08]

Ok if you read my last topic then basically there's no way I could ask for a recommendation for old school RPGs without Baldur's Gate immediately overshadowing everything else so I figured why not I'll play it. However I remember my first attempt at starting Baldur's Gate and being incredibly confused. So basically what advice do you all have? For starting out like if there's anything I should make sure to do when starting out that would be really good. How should I build my character like if there's a build or class that will break the game or up the difficulty 100 fold. Also about mods I have checked on GOG to see what they say but there are 3 mod guides and all of them look to be VERY outdated with people constantly talking about problems with the guide several pages in. So can any of you give me some tips here? Thanks for all your help and for your answers in my last poll.
Here's the link to that poll if you are curious.
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.349288-Poll-Which-of-these-old-school-RPGs-should-I-play
EDIT: Crap I forgot to mention this. If anyone has any similar tips or mods for Baldur's Gate 2 then that would also be helpful since I plan on playing both of them.
EDIT2: On Destructoid Joshua Derocher posted a modding guide to the Baldur's Gate games. Here's the link.
http://www.destructoid.com/the-weekend-modder-s-guide-baldur-s-gate-1-2-222096.phtml

 

[LookingGlass]

Well, I played through it a couple of months ago for the first time ever, so keep that in mind.

1. Don't be a thief like I tried to be on my first build (actually a fighter/thief, but that's no good either). You'll get a thief as a follower/companion as soon as you leave the first area, and two thieves are not going to be able to fight off jack shit. Other than that, I say be whatever you want to. My opinion is that hybrids are harder to manage. Either way, you can have 6 people in your party, so you can be anything and just find followers that fit in with that.

2. When you get to a new town, talk to everyone. Do all the quests you can. You'll need the XP to level up and stand a chance against anything as you progress.

3. Don't be afraid to use everything at your disposal. Ranged weapons, potions, spells, everything. You'll need them all.

4. Always save before travelling. Random encounters will often lead to your death.


Oh, and I didn't bother with any mods, so I can't help you there except to say that it was perfectly playable as it was.

 

[80Maxwell08]

Well, I played through it a couple of months ago for the first time ever, so keep that in mind.

1. Don't be a thief like I tried to be on my first build (actually a fighter/thief, but that's no good either). You'll get a thief as a follower/companion as soon as you leave the first area, and two thieves are not going to be able to fight off jack shit. Other than that, I say be whatever you want to. My opinion is that hybrids are harder to manage. Either way, you can have 6 people in your party, so you can be anything and just find followers that fit in with that.

2. When you get to a new town, talk to everyone. Do all the quests you can. You'll need the XP to level up and stand a chance against anything as you progress.

3. Don't be afraid to use everything at your disposal. Ranged weapons, potions, spells, everything. You'll need them all.

4. Always save before travelling. Random encounters will often lead to your death.


Oh, and I didn't bother with any mods, so I can't help you there except to say that it was perfectly playable as it was.

All right that helps quite a bit thanks. Still I would at least like things like the widescreen mod considering I use a 1080P monitor and when I tried playing Planescape Torment at the default resolution it certainly wasn't bad but it could have been way better. I honestly don't know why GOG themselves haven't put up a mod guide to Baldur's Gate like they did with Planescape Torment since those are usually their biggest sellers.

 

[Jandau]

Honestly, everything you need to know about the game is contained here: http://www.gamefaqs.com/pc/75251-baldurs-gate/faqs/2456

But barring that, here goes:

1. Creating your character - It's D&D, so Wizards suck balls early on. Since BG1 is a low-level adventure, Wizards aren't that great until verly lategame. Thieves aren't too stellar either. You will want to reroll your stats for a while. You want to max out CON (for HP), DEX (for AC) and your primary stat (STR for non-spellcasters, WIS for Clerics, INT for Wizards) without dropping anything bellow 10 (low CHA will cause you trouble). Multiclass characters are also an option. Fighter/Clerics work pretty well, for instance. Cleric/Rangers are also cool. You'll have a slightly rougher time starting out, but once the levels start rolling in it'll even out. And don't play a Bard unless you are a masochist.

2. Ranged weapons are insanely powerful early on and will last you for quite a while. Everyone can put point in some form of ranged weaponry, at least slings. This allows even your Wizards (who have limited spell slots) to contribute in combat and if your entire party can shower incoming enemies with missiles before melee combat is forced upon you, all the better.

3. Create a balanced party. The default party that is assumed to be "canon" by the game is You, Imoen (Thief), Khalid (Fighter), Jaehira (Fighter/Druid), Minsc (Ranger), Dynaheir (Wizard). This is a solid mix, though you could do with a better healer. Personally, I dump Khalid and Jaehira (they come in pair), pick up Viconia, Yeslick or Branwen as my Cleric and fill in the last spot as needed. For instance, Xan makes a good second Wizard, Ajantis is a solid Paladin pick and easy to get, etc.

4. Your Thief needs to be able to Open Locks and Disarm Traps at 100%. Everything else is kinda pointless. With that in mind, once Imoen maxes out those two skills (it takes a few levels) or gets close to it (90+) you might consider Dual Classing her into a Wizard (which is what the game's canon assumes, she starts BG2 as a Thief/Wizard). You want to do the Dual Classing as early as possible so you have time to get the Wizard levels before the level cap kicks in (it's a bit easier if you have Tales of the Sword Coast which raises the cap).

5. At the start of the game, after the prologue, go meet up with Jaehira and Khalid (even if you plan to drop them later, you need the muscle early on). Then go to Nashkel and pick up Minsc. Do his quest to get Dynaheir. Now do the Nashkel mines questline. Now you have some starter gear, a decent party and can go wander around. You may have noticed the various wilderness areas. Well, depending on which one of the four edges of a map you exit on, you may open up even more such areas. Most of them have quests, all of them have stuff to kill, some of them have pretty great loot. I suggest you explore the southern half of the map before moving on with the main quest.

6. Also, the game is hard. As in, it'll wipe the floor with you and not really care. So keep a steady supply of ammo, consumeables (potions, wands, scrolls) and such. Make sure your spellcasters have Dispell Magic once you get it, you'll need it. Try to focus your fire, especially with ranged weapons.

7. Early on, damage spells are CRAP. They do no damage and only take up your already limited spell slots. You want to go for control spells like Entangle, Sleep, Command, Hold or Web (to limit enemy numbers and hold them down while you shoot them dead) or barring that Buff and Healing spells. Later on, you'll start getting decent damage spells (most notably, Fireball) and by that point your shitty low-level damage spells will have scaled up to the point where they are actually worth casting.

 

[Rack]

Jandau has it in terms of advice. As for myself I like to take a Fighter through Baldurs Gate 1 and dual class him into a mage early in Baldurs Gate 2. That gets him a ton of hit points and great fighting abilities for the first game and a ton of hit points and defensive spells for the second. Survivability is absolutely the #1 concern for the main character because he's the only one you can't res. Also a dual class Fighter/Mage casting Timestop is a devastating thing.

Edit: Oh Yeah, mods. Been a while since I applied anything but I always went with BGTutu and all the banter packs. Don't know how you'd install them now though. You might also look into BiG World though it sounds like a huge faff.

http://www.shsforums.net/files/file/534-big-world-v1031-englishpdf/

 

[BLAHwhatever]

Explore your first area maps completely once your party is full (watch out for ogres though).
Loot and sell EVERYTHING early on. Nothing helps your Fighter/Paladin better than an early plate armor and a Longshield+1 .

 

[BLAHwhatever]

Then go to Nashkel and pick up Minsc. Do his quest to get Dynaheir.

That quest so early on? I'd just pick up Xzar and Montaron for starters. Gnolls hordes are tough!

 

[LookingGlass]

5. At the start of the game, after the prologue, go meet up with Jaehira and Khalid (even if you plan to drop them later, you need the muscle early on). Then go to Nashkel and pick up Minsc. Do his quest to get Dynaheir. Now do the Nashkel mines questline. Now you have some starter gear, a decent party and can go wander around. You may have noticed the various wilderness areas. Well, depending on which one of the four edges of a map you exit on, you may open up even more such areas. Most of them have quests, all of them have stuff to kill, some of them have pretty great loot. I suggest you explore the southern half of the map before moving on with the main quest.

Surely a first-time player won't be able to get Dynaheir that quickly. I did it after doing most of the quests at the Friendly Ann Inn, Beregost, and Naskell first. You run into a fair amount of resistance trying to get Dynaheir. And if you get Minsc and don't get Dynaheir quickly enough, I believe Minsc deserts you. Not something I'd try as a level 1 character, certainly.


Oh, and an entangle spell from a druid/cleric + ranged attacks is a solid way to take down most tough enemies early on.

 

[Jandau]

5. At the start of the game, after the prologue, go meet up with Jaehira and Khalid (even if you plan to drop them later, you need the muscle early on). Then go to Nashkel and pick up Minsc. Do his quest to get Dynaheir. Now do the Nashkel mines questline. Now you have some starter gear, a decent party and can go wander around. You may have noticed the various wilderness areas. Well, depending on which one of the four edges of a map you exit on, you may open up even more such areas. Most of them have quests, all of them have stuff to kill, some of them have pretty great loot. I suggest you explore the southern half of the map before moving on with the main quest.

Surely a first-time player won't be able to get Dynaheir that quickly. I did it after doing most of the quests at the Friendly Ann Inn, Beregost, and Naskell first. You run into a fair amount of resistance trying to get Dynaheir. And if you get Minsc and don't get Dynaheir quickly enough, I believe Minsc deserts you. Not something I'd try as a level 1 character, certainly.

By the time you get to the Gnoll Fort you should be level 2. At level 2 with Jaehira, Minsc, Imoen and Khalid you can lay down Entangles from Jaehira and any spells you might be able to cast and then use concentrated missile fire to take down Gnolls before they get to you. Heck, you only need Entangle if you pull too many. Just move forward slowly and pull them a few at a time and focus them down.

 

[The Madman]

Commented in the last topic and am not really sure what else I can possibly add without getting into the absolute nitty gritty of gameplay mechanics and the like. Honestly I'd say just give it a go, by this point if you've taken the time to read all the replies you're more than well enough prepared. It's a tough game but it's not *that* tough! Anyway as for mods I guess I can give a bit more detail there. First things first there's the 'conversion' mods:

I recommend BG1tutu as it converts the original game to the second games engine while still keeping it a seperate experience, but some people prefer the trilogy mod which combines the two games into one overall experience. Really which one you prefer is entirely a personal preference as other than a few details they more or less do the same thing and both will allow you to install the other mods I mentioned.

Then there's the two I mentioned last time: BG1 NPC Project & Unfinished Business. Both of which I like because they add to the experience and improve on it without actually changing much or deviating from the spirit of the default experience.

And by the sounds of it you'll also want the Widescreen mod. I don't recommend going too high of a resolution even if you might be tempted to, after a certain point since the higher resolutions zoom your view out further and further it becomes more of a problem than anything else. Still useful though, just don't go crazy with it!

But that's about it in terms of mods that I'd recommend for an initial playthrough. Installing them is pretty straight-forward as well, all the websites I linked have instructions and it's not hard to begin with. You do have to install the conversion mod first, the others rely on that already having been installed. Beyond that easy stuff really.

Then go to Nashkel and pick up Minsc. Do his quest to get Dynaheir.

That quest so early on? I'd just pick up Xzar and Montaron for starters. Gnolls hordes are tough!

The biggest problem I figure is that even just on the way to the Gnoll fortress there's a Mountain Bear you'll probably encounter and... ouch. At a low level that thing will wreck entire party with ease. Gnolls you can blow up with scrolls of fireball or put to sleep with magic, but the Mountain Bear, well, it'll just shrug that stuff aside while simultaneously ripping Minsc head and laughing in your general direction if you're not careful.

 

[RJ 17]

My only advice is go for the eyes, Maxwell, GO FOR THE EYES!!!!

But seriously, I don't remember much about the game...been way too long since I've played it. All I can really say is that I seem to recall being a mage was the easiest. The big spells you get later on in the game are amazing.

 

[Fishyash]

If you don't know the best builds, prepare to have your main character (even certain party members, like Xzar) get one shot.

I'm very new to the game, I've only just reached Nashkel, but the best advice I can give is take your time. Pause a lot, Save Early, Save Often, and hope your Q button (quicksave) doesn't wear out.

Make sure you have a good formation so your party has to move as little as possible to get into ideal positions. Good positioning is key.

Also, I believe your character's armour class decreases if you are firing a ranged weapon from up close. Don't do that!

 

[The Madman]

Also, I believe your character's armour class decreases if you are firing a ranged weapon from up close. Don't do that!

It does. Drastically. Never try using a ranged weapon at a melee distance despite what Legolas might have shown you, in reality it never ends well!

That said that's why your earlier point is so important: positioning. Ranged weapons early in the game especially are insanely powerful so if you can use more heavily armoured and protected group members to act defence while your ranged characters are firing over their shoulders it's a devastating combination against almost any enemy you're likely to encounter at that point in the game.

 

[Puddleknock]

Well most of what I would of said has already been mentioned, but this a BG thread so I feel compelled to say something.

I found the easiest class to start with was cleric or straight up fighter. Though I had the most fun as dual class thief/fighter, though really not recommended to begin with (was a swashbuckler in BG2 but can't remember if that is an option in BG1).

 

[Tragedy's Rebellion]

1. Equip all your party members with ranged weapons, even without them having spent any points in improving them. With a bit of positioning and moving around you shouldn't die until at least the bandit camp (after that it gets tricky).

2. There are numerous hidden stashes around the maps, so use tab to see them. You can get the best plate armor in the game VERY early on, if you find the hidden spot.

3. Most classes in the game aren't very good, especially for the companions. Jaheira and Khalid kinda suck. The cleric girl who is encased in stone at the fair is awesome and never dies if you give her the aforementioned plate armor.

4. Multi or dual-classing mostly don't work, because you don't have the levels needed, but sometimes it's awesome. Dual-classing (or multi, I forgot which one) Imoen to Thief/Mage early on is a great idea.

That's all I can think of, from my limited experience with BG.

 

[karcentric]

Take 10 weeks off, to compensate the incredibly slow characters.

 

[ChadSexington]

Honestly, I only played two but I remember the game being far easier as a mage. If you die in Baldurs Gate it's game over and having a mage encourages you to keep your character away from combat. On top of that some of the spells you can get are super useful and (from what I remember) there aren't any proper mage characters who are actually useful so yeah, try a spell caster.

Again, I didn't play the original, I only played Baldurs Gate II.

 

[endtherapture]

Well most of what I would of said has already been mentioned, but this a BG thread so I feel compelled to say something.

I found the easiest class to start with was cleric or straight up fighter. Though I had the most fun as dual class thief/fighter, though really not recommended to begin with (was a swashbuckler in BG2 but can't remember if that is an option in BG1).

If you get BG TuTU you can get the cool character kits from BG2 in BG1.

 

[Confidingtripod]

my advice: explore, run around, try things out, its a bit trial and error but you'll figure stuff out, and once you get to the city you'll spend ALOT of time there so I'd advise taking your time before hand, simply enjoy the game, past that I'd advise heading south, theres a couple of low-level quests there, you can get a bounty to kill a guy at the mines, find him south of the mine and talk to him, I belive if you spare him a bounty hunter should show up and its an average toughness fight, kill the bounty hunter and I believe you get a good sword from it, also: the coast is very, VERY dangerous, you can encounter sirens who will turn your party members against you and I believe if killed they cant be brought back.

And lastly, think before you do, the combat is tactical down to what kind of armor your guys are wearing so be carefull, and if you get a team (eg: Jaheira/Khalid) you cant remove one without the other, so letting the undesirable die, then replacing them perminantly removes them from the game but can lead to a better rounded party

 

[LetalisK]

snip

I'm so bookmarking this thread. I completely forgot GOG probably has BG. As soon as I get rid of some of my backlog, I'll have to go there. Anyway, question. It seems in most RPGs, especially the older ones, it doesn't matter what I am or what I do, I have to tank whether I want to or not. I could be a lowly little wizard in the back doing nothing but twiddling my thumbs and it always seems like every enemy within a one mile radius makes a beeline for me even as they get roasted and stabbed multiple times by my companions along the way. So, I just save myself the headache and roll a tankish class that can do decent to good damage. I was wondering, what would be a good combo for this? Straight up fighter? Paladin? I know in the past a lot of times I'd go Cleric/Fighter for some defensive spells, since I don't mind using defensive spells at all. I just usually end up sucking at offensive spells, hence I don't use them very often.