First play

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Okay guys, i'm looking to start this game, and I have a few questions...

What should I do for a party?
What is HoF mode?
What is Trials of the Luremaster?
Are there any "essential" mods?

Also, any other tips or hints are appreciated.

Go!

 

Type of characters depends on how you play.

Druids are actually useful in this campaign.
The most powerful weapon is a holy avenger, to use it you must be a paladin.
Bards are quite good in this game, the songs are quite helpful (as is the pickpocketing and lore).
A balanced party is best, you can use single classed, dual classed and multiclassed characters and still be able to defeat any opponents.

 

I disagree with T2 Bruno, the holy avenger isn't the most powerful weapon in the game, not even the most powerful longsword. If you have a paladin it doesn't hurt to specialize in longswords for it but it's not worth taking a paladin just because of it.
HoF mode is an ultra-hard difficulty which I don't recommend trying before you have defeated the game at least once.
The game is balanced for normal mode. You get +50 percent XP at easy or hard and even double XP at very easy or insane which can make the game much easier on the long run.

I don't recommend installing a mod on your first run, TotL should include the latest patch if you download it.

 

Is not even the holy avenger. It is the pale justice. People forget that IWD introduced this kind of weapon before BG2.
Still, a paladin might be a good idea for a party member in the beginning but don't make him/her your party leader. You might get into fights sooner than you might want.
Take one thief, preferably a F/T halfling. Those are good for beginners.
You'll need at least one priest cleric or druid.
Too get the maximum of entertainment in the game, I would suggest leaving the druid for a future party and go for this:
Human Paladin
Half-elf Ranger/Cleric
Elf Fighter/Mage
Halfling Fighter/Thief
Half-elf Bard
Human Mage Specialist (Abjurer, Transmuter, Illusionist or Necromancer recommended).
This party should allow you access to all weapons and give you almost all quests in the game.

 

...Wait, you make an entire party? No picking up NPCs?

 

Yes, you have to create your whole party yourself, like in the traditional gold box games. Enjoy the freedom to play with the classes you like instead of being limited to just a few pregenerated NPCs.
But don't forget that more freedom also means more freedom to mess up your party, so take your time planning it before you start.

 

Why yes, IWD series are radically different than BG in this matter. You get to create your whole party and there are no joinable NPCs available. However this does not mean the game is worse than BG series. You can use your own creativity and imagination to create a very powerful party, in which the characters have personalities as well. Fill in their biographies, make lovers, childhood friends, rivals, etc. It is fun!

IWD is more action based than BG series, but it has a decent story and 'cool' atmosphere. The places you will travel are all fantastic and goergeous! The monsters equally dangerous and vicious!

You MUST have Trials of the Lure Master, it adds a long and very fun side quest, and massive dungeons to game, a must to have for the most challenging and fun encounters. Download it from somewhere and play, it is free AFAIK.

Do not start in HoF mode, it is kinda like Diablo's Nightmare/Hell difficulty levels, it makes all of the monsters ridiculously powerful! Reccomended only for experienced parties 'or' players who look for the best challenge the game has to offer.

 

HoF mode while certainly fun and a challenge, also makes spells with saves a lot less useful, so in a sense it restricts your gameplay options.

For example, the sleep spell, while usually good for a beginning party, is completely useless in HoF mode.

 

You guys are doing a good job of making me overly curious

Do you have a "main character" as it were?

 

All characters are equally important. You have 6 main characters.

 

I would suggest only one for a first-time player: Assorted Fixes from the IWD Tweak Pack.

 

If you still haven't played the game, I suggest delaying your first run: joinable NPCs for Icewind Dale are in development at PPG now, and the mod will be released soon. It will make your run through the game much more interesting.

 

Even if this mod were finished, I wouldn't recommend using it on your first playthrough.

 

On my first play I think i'll just build a party from scratch, as nature intended.

What kind of things are in the Tweak Pack?

 

An overview of the IWD Tweak Pack is available on its project page. Definitely go for the Assorted Fixes component; maybe not so much the rest for a first playthrough. I think kmonster and I are coming from the same school of thought--it's nice to play a first game more or less unmodded, so you can notice and appreciate additional content or changes in future games.

I think I'd recommend one other Tweaks component for a first game: Icon Improvements. I was very frustrated in my first IWD game because there are a ton of magical rings that all use the same icon. This made it irritatingly difficult to tell them from one another without constantly pulling up their name or description.

 

I also recommend the tweak pack.

The greater item stacking limits make inventory management much less tedious. Also, if you plan on using a lot of ranged attacks (especially useful in HoF mode), then this will reduce frequent trips back to a store to buy more ammo.

 

Whatever you do, do NOT play a single classed mage. They level up faster than you can find scrolls for them.

I always suggest giving them a few Fighter levels than dual classing, or go with a multiclassed character. If you have HoW, you need a Bard. IMHO, they're the best class in the game, and after level 11, you'll never attack with them again.

 

I never bothered using the tweak pack. The game is perfectly playable without.

 

I do doubt that he's going to play directly in HoF like you did. Normal difficulty should be enough for start. And that's how the game in balanced for a single class mage in a 6 characters party to gain spells as he increases in level.