23-12-2002 22:46									#31
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I spent about 60 hours playing final fantasy 7, and i can honestly say i enjoyed every minute!

	24-12-2002 02:28									#32
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SnowFire

quote: DarkCloud: BG1 isn't actually that good. I recommend you skip it and go straight to BG2, which actually has strategy in its battles. If you're having trouble in BG1, here is the one strategy to rule them all for the vast monster hordes lying around: equip all your team with bows. Send one scout forward to distract the next 1 or 2 enemies and get them to follow. Watch as they get mowed down by your teammates with arrows. Send scout back. Lure more bad guys back. Maybe move ambush forward a bit. Repeat until all 200 gnolls are dead, or whatever else you're fighting. Spellcasters can be annoying when you're at low levels in that they can kill you with one hit sometimes; all I can say is once you level up it won't be as big of a problem.

Thanks. I'll take that in mind- but I should probably first finish BG1 neverthless since I bought the expansion pack

Bows, hmm... Good Idea... I tried something like that once with my people the first time I played- sigh it just seems I can't be a wizard; must be a fighter/ranger... oh well... but the problem with bows is that under the ground- they don't work as well... or don't seem to. All the kobolds with fire arrows kill me before my arrows kill them

but I'll try your suggestion!

	24-12-2002 03:06									#33
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quote: Originally posted by SnowFire DarkCloud: BG1 isn't actually that good. I recommend you skip it and go straight to BG2, which actually has strategy in its battles.

Agreed. Admittedly I'm not a great fan of the genre but I didn't like BG1, though BG2 is one of the few RPG's I have played a lot.

	24-12-2002 04:57									#34
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I know this is mentioned in the manual but potions are often the key to success in BG. Arrows are very good in BG1 so try getting at kobolds with them, I know this might sound cheesy to you but often you can approach slowly and have them charge you not all at once. It might be hard getting through anything without learning good fighting, use strong fighters to draw the punishment from missile weapons while shooting with an archer (NPC or yourself). Don't be afraid to use the pause button so you can plan your strategies, withdraw injured party members from combat, keep the strongest and best armoured member at the toughest area of fighting. Use any spells, if you're a wizard try making the most of it with area effect spells, summoning etc. Not easy on lower levels but hey, there's always save and reload.
Party construction is vital, if I remember correctly from my BG1 days, my ranger-NPC (don't know if you've find this NPC yet so dont want to spoil you, you can have him at this point in the game though) scored more than half of my kills using his bow getting at my enemies before they even got close. Try having one thief, two fighters, one ranger, one wizard and one cleric, it has worked for me. And also, go do some side quests apart from the main story, it's fun and you earn som exp so you can handle the main plot related quests to drive the game forward. Don't give BG1 up, it's a great game and makes playing BG2 even more rewarding.

	24-12-2002 15:26									#35
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As i near the end of Morrowind, i think it safe to say that Daggerfall was longer - but so much older and less emersive - can't spell today for some reason - but whichever The Elder Scrolls Rule!

SG[1]

	24-12-2002 17:01									#36
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DarkCloud!!

quote: -Do I need to accept EVERY side quest before going into the mines?

Of course not, but if it's the first time playing you should do everything because it's mainly fun, and sometimes quite funny. Of course, you won't be able to do all quests because you are limited to your char and some chars can do different quests... And of course, you earn the best loot when adventuring (for example, in the beginning you have to save Prism from a guy that has a mighty sword on him, he is extremely hard to kill then, but if you do, oh boy... you got a fine longsword, I kept using it till the end of the game!)

quote: How far should I level up before going into the mines.

Just follow the storyline from the beginning, and start exploring other areas after you get out of the mines...the mines are pretty easy actually You'll get XP, and if you don't do it first, you will be too weak for many surrounding areas...

quote: 4. I turned the difficulty down and it is better, but I still get my whole party killed by 1 bear on level one... and can't get past the bridge to help minsc fast enough as a wizard...

Yeah at low levels, bears are actually pretty dangerous, they earn like 400Xp or so (where as a kobold gives 7 or so, and they can damage you quite hard with their bows already) a bear deals out big chunks of damage so just run away until you are strong and better equipped


Being a wizard at first is really hard, it only gets worthwhile in the end... I would also say that wizards truly become powerful in BG2, in BG1 the lower level spells aren't that impressive..

you should make yourself a ranger: he can go stealth which is damn fine to scout, especially when you get the boots of speed (muhahaha, you all know what I mean, and it's not cheating!), get minsc for sure, he's the best NPC.. You can even play without a wizard, like Xan, but be sure to have a cleric... they're better because they can cast spells and still be heavily armed.

I actually enjoyed BG1 a lot, the expansion is somewhat short, but quite hard, and the quests are really difficult (Durlag's Tower will be a real tough one, but seeing you get stuck in the mines already... Hmm )

	24-12-2002 21:03									#37
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quote: And of course, you earn the best loot when adventuring (for example, in the beginning you have to save Prism from a guy that has a mighty sword on him, he is extremely hard to kill then, but if you do, oh boy... you got a fine longsword, I kept using it till the end of the game!)

You know... I spent 30 minutes searching for prism... and an hour searching for the boy's hellhound 'dog' and another hour searching for the crazy captain of the guard and I never found them

quote: the mines are pretty easy actually

hmph... says you. I've died down there in about 10-20 restarts... the farthest I've got is level 3... and that's with using cheating maps to find the fastest way through wihtout maps, the farthest I got was level 2.

quote: a bear deals out big chunks of damage so just run away until you are strong and better equipped

They always ambush me when travelling so that I can't run away

quote: get minsc for sure, he's the best NPC..

Sigh. He always Dies 1st

-
Okay, I'll restart as a ranger next time I play... I was wondering whether I should have a thief or not... and just wondering- is the rumor true that the annoying character in Nashkell who keeps talking will give you experience if you don't kill him?

Anecdote- the first time I met him; I pumped him dry- spent 10-15 minutes going through his whole conversation tree, then tried to move and he kept talking, saying nothing... I then clicked on him for 5 minutes more... then I got into a fight with that wizard on the bridge... then I tried to run and he kept talking, so I killed him and then the wizard.

Also- my 1st thieving trial... It failed and I ended up injuring the person... then the guards went after me and now every time I enter the city I flee arrows until I get into a shop

-
Thank you for the ideas.

	25-12-2002 01:08									#38
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Oh boy, you need some real training

In the beginning your characters are all pathetic, just stick to weak creatures, gibberlings, kobolds, and maybe some orcs (there is a good quest in the Friendly arm inn, to find a ring, guarded by some quite a few orcs) when you finally reach level 3 (that shouldn't be so hard, you'll reach that quite quickly, you don't need much XP...) you'll be alright, and by then you should have some gold to get some decent equipment instead of leather armour and that ****

quote: You know... I spent 30 minutes searching for prism... and an hour searching for the boy's hellhound 'dog' and another hour searching for the crazy captain of the guard and I never found them

That's odd, if you have difficulty with this, don't play BG2
I mean when you start a quest you are usually given information, talk with people to know where you could find what you are looking for. Prism isn't far away from Nashkell really (you should also make sure you don't miss areas, I always go to all 4 sides of a map to see if there is a new area available). The hellhound is pretty funny if you find it, but not very rewarding... That crazy captin you won't find early on, Bragg if i'm not mistaken?

Btw you wouldn't be able to to that quest, requires more power
But what stuns me is that you don't find the exit in the mines.. When you have explored the entire map, you must have seen the entrance to the next floor right?


A note about thieving: Check the stats of your thief: If you only have 10 skill in pickpocketing, then don't pickpocket...

I recommend using a thief mainly to detect and disarm traps (so invest heavily in that), and open locks, those two are the best things about a thief: The backstabbing is cool, but yet again, way more powerful in BG2 (to wizards particularly) If you backstab, only do it on wizards, you'll have a good chance of killing him right away, when you do it to a warrior, your thief, when het gets visible, will get bashed big time... (first equipping your thief with a bow, and afterwards with a light crossbow (later on you can buy light crossbow of speed in the smithy in nashkell, which is the best crossbow) will give best results for the fighting capabilities of a thief)

So investing on stealth... i would use my ranger for invisible scouting.. You can compensate for example by giving your thief potions of invisibility so he can backstab anyway without investing in stealth.

*Use potions, they make a great difference: potions of invulerability or potions of giant strength, potions of stone skin, health potions are all mandatory (especially health potions)

So when you go in the mines, try stealing or getting some, and make your cleric get heal spells only (if you have them)


But basically, when you get out of the mines, and do maybe 2-3 more good quests (you have smaller quests that only yield like 20 GP and 100 XP which is a waste of time) will get you up to level 3 at least... When you are level 3-4 you can start kicking major ass!!

	25-12-2002 01:15									#39
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Actually, if you need real advice, go to this BG site , from this site: http://www.planetbaldursgate.com/

I am a newbie compared to the guys in there... they know lots of strategies, and know Baldur's gate saga inside out

You have to register however.
I actually found the beginning of Baldur's Gate much less fun than the later parts.. Durlag's tower, Baldur's gate and other things are really sweet!


(Btw you might want to make your NPc a fighter/mage or a fighter/thief/mage so you don't need a thief (that means an extra warrior!) and your mage will be stronger (due to the fighter part)
You won't be able to specialize or wear armour though, but no big deal, just cast magic armour or spirit armour or something

	25-12-2002 03:03									#40
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DC: There's no particular need to play a thief; Imoen has 18 Dex and is already an excellent thief and all you'll ever need in one, because thieves kind of suck in battle (d6 HP compared to d10, and their THAC0 increases at only half the rate of fighters).
I played a Ranger too in BG, but it's actually not that great because they don't have dual wielding-implemented, and the stealth almost never works. I ended up equipping her in heavy armor and using her like a fighter- and I should have just played a Fighter for that, to get the better weapon specialization (more than 2 stars in a category!). Probably the safest, blah way of going through would be:
You (some Fighter type) & Imoen
Khalid & Jaheira (more guts and a healer)
Minsc & Dynaheir (by the time you collect Dynaheir, the last of the group, mages will start being vaugely decent).

You can fill empty slots with people like Garrick or Xan while waiting for Dynaheir to join.
Since this is low-levels, the massive offensive storm of 3 fighter-types (You, Minsc, & Khalid) as well as half a fighter (Jaheira) should be enough to do rather well. There are other options of course, but this party can be assembled rather fast and Minsc is funny.

By the way, be sure to cheat wildly by re-rolling stats when creating your character. It's not unreasonable to go for an 18 in Str, Dex, AND Con if you're making a fighter...

	25-12-2002 04:45									#41
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quote: Originally posted by Straybow quote: Originally posted by Grumbold My longest RPG is the AD&D campaign that has been running for 18 years now and counting. 18 years? By now you should be about 180th level and exterminated every monster on the prime and adjacent planes.

The DM plays by the old rules of 2-4 modules per level up, not the XP counting method. These days we only meet a few times each year, so maybe one module finished per year. I've been 14th level for nearly 3 years now

	25-12-2002 20:44									#42
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quote: they don't have dual wielding-implemented

Yeah duh, that's a BG2 feature

quote: the stealth almost never works

Well, everytime you levelup it increases... there are many items that imrpove sthealth , like boots of stealth (you should get those somewhere, boots in BG1 aren't that great anyway), and other items.. and use potions (i don't remember the name though)


i use potions all the time actually... only thing that keeps me alive are potions actually

	26-12-2002 03:47									#43
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Whew! Thankfully I finally completed Chapter 2 with all your help

Thanks

I had almost all missile:

Xzar (Wizard)
Montaroon [arrows]
Khalid [darts]
Myelf [arrows]
Imoen [arrows]
Jaheira [Staff]

And Only Khalid was injured, and in fact he died. I have decided to leave him and pick up a Paladin; then wait until montaroon dies and replace him with a cleric... Branwhen or Viconia- I don't know who.

Well, I think I did better- before all my rolls were 15-16-12-etc. this time I got a 18-18-17-14-etc roll

I just cant seem to be able to level up though?

The guys on PlanetBaldurs gate really didn't help me. I Posted there long ago and learned nothing

But at least im now in chapter 3... don't know quite what to do now? Waste time in side quests?

Oh well

quote: you finally reach level 3 (that shouldn't be so hard, you'll reach that quite quickly, you don't need much XP...) you'll be alright, and by then you should have some gold to get some decent equipment instead of leather armour and that ****

Not hard? I just completed chapter 2 and I have yet to reach level 2?

	26-12-2002 03:59									#44
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That is odd.. you should do some quests then!! Pretty weird, after i got out of the mines i had tons of quests...


Btw in BG1 you should search the entire map to see if you haven't missed anything... A tip, after you get out of the mines, you should go north of the map, there is a tough party there...


You should equip Xan with his moonblade and a sling as his second weapon
khalid should be used as a swordsman

Btw you let your characters get killed!!! I never do that: if I want someone else i just kick one out, in case i ever want to use that NPC again (some won't want to rejoin though, depending on your reputation)

I would explore the surrounding areas of Nashkell and Beregost (there should be some quests in Beregost...) remember that a white wolfs fur yields 500 GP, a piece! so if you see one, get him for sure, 500 GP is a lot right now...


In case you didn't know, you are trying to find the bandit camp after the mines (you will get ambushed a lot from now on by bandits when travelling!) but you'll have to find out yourself

	26-12-2002 05:38									#45
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Traj: Oh, I'm sure that stealth might work around level 4-7, if you're wearing Leather Armor. But if you're wearing Studded Leather (she NEEDED it), it really hoses your already pathetic chance at level 3 and lower- it goes from 5% to -10% or something else ridiculous. Besides, if you fight your battles as my strategy dictates- the constant use of arrows and only rare use of melee- stealth isn't that helpful anyway.

And in BG2, Minsc has already specialized in Two-handers, so the dual-wielding isn't real helpful there. I only used the other ranger guy, the one with the katana and the Mage Sphere quest, to do the Planar Sphere quest before booting him. But yes, free dual-wield makes Rangers a lot more worthwhile if I was going to make one my main character.

DC: You do realize that they're still quite healable if they're all in the red, right? It's only when their portrait dissapears that they're gone for good...

	26-12-2002 17:04									#46
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Yup, you can raise the dead

Yeah, i imported my BG1 (tosc) character, a ranger with 100+% stealth, 3 stars in dual wielding (=> 2 scimitars), max proficiency in long bow (2 stars), and then i did some proficiency in scimitars too..

He worked out pretty well, as he had a huge amount of HP, and he could go stealth, make a double hit, gobble up a potion, and do a double hit again (mages usually cast detect invisibility though, but at least it gives me the chance to disrupt their stone skin casting, and other stuff... unfrotunately most have a contingency spell on so even that doesn't always work!)


I also found that poison is a lot less frequent in BG2 than in BG1, BG2 uses way too much confusion, hold, and domination spells.. I found that very annoying, because 1 confusion spell is sufficient to take out 3-4 characters (the result is that my ranger with boots of speed just butchered my party and I couldn't do a thing about it, chaotic commands (or the spell that counters it?) only lasts a short while, and you have to cast it on every party member, so when you're done casting the last spell, the first spell has already weared out!!!)

	26-12-2002 19:21									#47
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Go south near the mountains and hunt some white wolf there, best way of makin an income. And as mentioned above, search all maps and talk to everyone.

	27-12-2002 00:49									#48
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I'm thinking of startin BG1 again. I had to wipe my computer so it's not on right now.

I'm not keen on having that many archers though. How viable is melee in BG1. I depended on it on BG2. I had a monk, minsc, (and the expansion I had a certain bad guy I won't spoil), not to mention vicionia with the crom faer (to raise her strength).

	27-12-2002 01:14									#49
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well so much for that idea. I'm getting a assertion failed at line 302 error. I installed BG1 and the exp and both patches. I really wanted to play too. Oh well.

	27-12-2002 04:30									#50
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ok I finally got this working. Hopefully I catch up to you Darkcloud. I may be able to offer some help. Right now I'm in chapter one. Right outside the friendly Arms inn.

	27-12-2002 04:44									#51
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quote: The DM plays by the old rules of 2-4 modules per level up, not the XP counting method. These days we only meet a few times each year, so maybe one module finished per year. I've been 14th level for nearly 3 years now

Well, that's hardly a campaign. You just get together and blow the dust off 'em.

	27-12-2002 05:52									#52
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Funny memory (in hindsight ), having my wizard killed with one staff strike 5 reloads in a row, oh the joys of low-levels.

	27-12-2002 07:29									#53
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damn the game keeps crashing in Beregost. It was working perfectly until then. Oh well.

	27-12-2002 20:51									#54
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quote: Btw you let your characters get killed!!! I never do that: if I want someone else i just kick one out, in case i ever want to use that NPC again (some won't want to rejoin though, depending on your reputation)

well, I would rather ditch Jaheira and Montaroon- but I need 1 melee fighter (Jaheira or Khalid) and Ajantis the Paladin can also give me heal, so I'll take a healing-figheter over Jaheira/Khalid

And I can't split them up unless one dies.
I'm also planning on replacing montaroon wiht a cleric.


-

quote: ok I finally got this working. Hopefully I catch up to you Darkcloud. I may be able to offer some help. Right now I'm in chapter one. Right outside the friendly Arms inn.

So, how'd you handle the bounty hunter at the FAI?
4 times I ran him around and lost him, got Jaheira/Khalid then killed him
Most recently however, I surrounded him and had 3 guards near; punched him wth my main character disrupting his spell and killed him in 6 rounds

--
As for the crashing? Did your computer overheat? Mine used to do that. That might be your problem.

---

quote: Go south near the mountains and hunt some white wolf there, best way of makin an income. And as mentioned above, search all maps and talk to everyone.

South of what? I went there and can't find anything?

-
The reason I'm leveling so slowly is that I have difficulty set to its lowest level... At least that might be te reason.

quote: In case you didn't know, you are trying to find the bandit camp after the mines (you will get ambushed a lot from now on by bandits when travelling!) but you'll have to find out yourself

Well, bandits are easy to kill...

Also. I don't really want to wander around too mcuh as I'm roleplaying the game, and my characters have a mission. But I'll try for the white wolf! Right after I pick up Ajantis, and find Firebead Elvenhair and give him the Fateful Coin book... I forgot where he was?

Then I need to find Brage and bring him to the clerics...

And stay away from Bassilus

quote: DC: You do realize that they're still quite healable if they're all in the red, right? It's only when their portrait dissapears that they're gone for good...

Oh. I don't use healing potions... They cost too much to use when someone is hit by a poisoned arrow.

-
Well, I'll try your suggestions!
Thanks!

	28-12-2002 13:01									#55
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That bounty hunter killed me the first few times. But I had ditched the two evil guys just before fighting him.

So I picked up the two evil guys (you first meet them in the area just outside the keep- but if you turn them down they disappear) and that battle was easy after that. 4 peopel vs 2 people made that a lot easier.

I'm a dwarf fighter btw.

I've been having problems with windows recently, and I think the problems with Baldur's GAte is related to that. I won't be able to continue if I can't go through that one town. I'll have to work on it. I may wipe my hard drive yet again. This Windows 98 SE just isn't working very well.

	29-12-2002 01:29									#56
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You need the good patches (there are old and corrupt patches so make sure you have the right one)

quote: They cost too much to use when someone is hit by a poisoned arrow

Well duh, you should have an antidote ready (against poison)
you find those potions quite often, or you can buy them in temples


Wow, settings on easy and you still get killed 4 times when fighting the bounty hunter

ok now I understand the problems with the mines
Your characters are... armed right?

	29-12-2002 03:24									#57
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No you see, I avoided hijm 4 times; then killed him wtih Jaheria/Kahlid.

Well, now I'm doing better than ever!
Chapter 4 and searching in the Cloakwoods.

I have all my characters at lvl 3 except Xzar and Montaroon...

Is charm person ever useful?

How do you killl a vampire dog (can you use metal?) (where can I buy silver arrows?)

------
As for a neverwinter nights question?
Does anyone know where I can find a patch from version 1.1 to version 1.3 or something of the sort because the 14 mb download from 1.1 to 2.3 is too much for me to download since I don't have DSL.

	29-12-2002 18:21									#58
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Charm person is useful when fighting enemy parties, if you manage to charm for example a fighter with a sword from the other group just charge him in to the middle of the mess and let him take the punishment while you crush his "friends".

	29-12-2002 19:56									#59
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HOly fk, already in cloakwood? so you razed the bandit cmap and everything already huh? wow heh, i actually had most of the map cleared and "adventured" before i went into the cloakwood


This is a map of the entire baldur's gate region, so check it if you think you have missed areas...


Charm person is a devastating, it's always effective in BG1 (BG2 usually has protectiona gainst it, while my chars don't!!) so use it on humans whenever you can (it will be very handy in Baldur's gate city) Btw watch out for sirens, they use charm all the time, which makes them extremely dangerous, because you will have to run away from the infected character or else you will slaughter your own chars... all ye can do is wait (can't remember if dispel magic works... I ususally didn't have it, because I never slept to regain spells.. I got in BG city in 4 days or something )

Vampire dogs can only be killed with magic or magical weapons... you might not have much of that so they are hard to kill (hence the 2000 XP for every kill! or something like that )


lose zxar and montaron, they're just weak!! all depends on your alignment though.. if you're evil..

	29-12-2002 22:34									#60
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quote: Btw watch out for sirens, they use charm all the time, which makes them extremely dangerous,

I have a paladin- 4 protections from evil

So- what's a magical item? A sword +1?

-
Anyways, I find wandering around the map tedious- therefore, I didn't bother to clear it; however, I think I might level up to level 4 before I go into the Cloakwood mines as I can 'just barely' hold my own versus the wyvrens.

Xzar now has some good spells but next time I play, I think I'll not have any magic users and instead have a Cleric/Druid/Ranger/Paladin/Thief/Fighter ... Do you think that a party like that might work?

-

quote: lose zxar and montaron, they're just weak!! all depends on your alignment though.. if you're evil..

No, I'm chaotic good. And Montaroon never dies...
And I lost out on Xan already... and Edwin is evil... and I can't split Xar and Montaroon up... unless Monty or Xar dies...