I'm new and inexperienced

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Hi,
Well after great debate within myself I finally purchased Baldurs Gate II.

When I was younger, say 12 to 15, I can remember the long long nights that a group of friends would have a sleep over and sit up all night playing D&D.

So, I really enjoyed Diablo II, even though I've always thought of myself as an anti hacker slasher kinda person, so thinking Im going along that theme, I picked up BG II, but now Im reading that it's more story driven, and much more like D&D, or AD&D, then Diablo II at all.

Keep in mind that I just installed it about 20 minutes ago and am downloading the patch as I type so that I get the best first impression from the game.

So, without playing yet, I thought I'd ask, is this game seriously more like D&D or Diablo II?

What advise would you give to a newb like myself?

I've gotten so used to playing RPG with "MANA" that I read in the Interplay faq's that they dont use Mana, is this so? If so how do they determine spell casting.

It's been a long long time since I've picked up a dice to play D&D, and have forgotten most of it, other than rolling to create a character, so please indulge my ignorance.

[edit]
Oh yes, I also forgot to ask, is there any experienced players out here that would be willing to show me the ropes (be forwarned, much patience may be necessary) in a couple of Multiplayer games?
[/edit]

Thanks,
BaldurDash

[This message has been edited by BaldurDash (edited April 14, 2001).]

[This message has been edited by BaldurDash (edited April 14, 2001).]

 

you can find most of what you need at the walkthrough and guide section.

 

While a far cry from true roleplaying, I would have to say BG2 is one of the games that have hit nearest to the mark.

Diablo is crap compared to BG2. Utter.
Here's what I have to say then.

 

I agree to Shura. BG-2 is probably the best CRPG I know, however - no match for a real p&p - here are things possible you can´t implement in a CRPG (and the developers never imagined)

However, compared to Diablo-I/ -II, BG-2 I is BG-2 way better. Good fun

 

Can't imagine that I actually agree with above pair of aces. Diablo II sucks!!!

 

as argued above, diablo series is really-really bad. even an average game like IWD is much better than any diablo game.

BG2 is far from AD&D experience, but considering the limitations of computer games
i guees it's on the right track.

as for mana - i don't know what RPG games you're referring to (quest for glory!?), but mana isn't used in BG2. just like AD&D, magic users have to rest in order to cast spells they have learnt and have written in their books. you can of course use spell-scrolls (one-time-use) or magic wands.
the sorcerer char differs a little - you don't have a spell book and don't have to rest to cast spells, but you can only learn a limited amount of spells per level.

as for multi player games, i suggest starting off on yourself, getting some xp (both gamewise and lifewise), and then joining a multiplayer game. both you and the people you play with will enjoy playing much more than with a newbie.

have fun.

 

Thanks, you said the sorcerer char doesnt need to rest to cast spells, but how does one get a sorcerer character? When I generated my character sorcerer wasnt an option, does a mage turn into a sorcerer or do you need to be a certain race to be a sorcerer?

Thanks again,

 

It all depends on your race as to which character type you can choose. Go back and try to be a human.

 

Thanks, actually that is my character, Human, but only saw the option for mage and not sorcerer. Will have to look again.

 

I must admit D2 has got more fmvs than bg2, but if you just started these kinda games, i think you should play bg1 first to get a grip on the chars and story.

 

Yeah I was torn between the two, best buy had both in stock, and BG1 was substantially less money, $19.99 compared to $49.99 but not exploring the message boards and info first, I decided on BG2, thinking that I would need it to play Multiplayer and that it would be more advanced. Anyway.....

 

Having played a sorcerer last time through I thought I'd better clear up some slightly misleading stuff posted above. The sorcerer does still have to rest before he/she can cast spells and they do have a spellbook in the game. How it works in BG2 is that your sorcerer gets to choose a number of spells of each spell level and these are placed in your spellbook. Once these are choosen they can not be changed. As you increase in experience level you get to add new spells to your spell book. You can also cast a given number of spells each day (and this number increases with experience) but you get to choose which spells you cast when you need them - you don't need to plan ahead like a mage does. OK that's not very clear - let me give you an example:

1) You start a new character as a sorcerer.
2) You are asked to choose which spells you will place in your spell book (depending on starting experience level).
3) You choose magic missiles, identify, sleep & protection from evil.
4)Your sorcerer has the ability to cast 4 spells per day (depending on level)
5) After resting your sorcerer will be able to cast 4 spells using any combination of his known spells - 4 magic missiles or 4 identify or 1 sleep, 1 protection from magic and 2 missiles, etc.

So the difference between sorcerer and normal mage is that the sorcerer gets more flexability day to day as he doesn't need to decided which spells to memorise in advance(he just needs rest). However, they are less flexible in the longer term because they cannot learn spells from scrolls so there will be fewer different types of spells in their spell books. Another benefit to sorcerers is that inteligence makes no real difference to their ability so you can have a thick sorcerer.

Hope this is reasonable clear. I loved playing a sorcerer because the day to day flexability means the game flows better - no more stopping and resting just to learn the correct spells for the upcoming battle.

PS if it's still not clear, just start a new game and select the kit and see what happens you'll soon get the idea.
PPS you should be able to select sorcerer from the chracter creation screen in BG2. It's near the bottom of the class list under Bard and (I think) is restricted to Human, Elf and Half Elf.
PPPS Sorry I can't remember how many speels you get to have but if you use the search function for theis forum you'll find some previous discussions about mage v sorcerer.

 

As a newbie to this board, and to BG2 (but not to CRPGs in general) I'd say BG2 is a great RPG and destined to be a classic. I've only completed Chapter 1 but I love what I've seen so far.

 

Why do you all hate diablo 2? while its not as good as baldurs gate 2 its not deer hunter
either.

 

I didn't hate Diablo2. It was fun playing it the 1st time. After that, the novelty wore off. Personally I preferred Diablo1. Call me crazy, but at least in Diablo1 there were more intersting quests, and you could actually choose what you did, unlike in Diablo2, where you had to do things in order and step-to-step. But Diablo2 doesn't hold a candle to BG1/2 or IWD.

 

BaldurDash (Nice name by the way!)

Welcome to the game. If you get stuck, run a search. There is probably some advice on the forum somewhere. If that doesn't work, feel free to post a new topic. Everyone here is very helpful!

We won't let you down.

 

Me would't compare Diablo II with BG II.
DII is nothing of an RPG, it was a BIG disappointment when I first played it.
BG II is the line I call real AD&D.

 

Baldurdash wahtever class you choose make sure you look in the hand book they have good info on plusses and minuses of races and class. And be sure to look in the back where the charts are. they give info on reputation, str, dex, con, int, wis, char. If your a newbie to the game i recomend a fighter. I played an elf fighter because of an elf gets an extra half attack per round and a bonus to dex. which decreased my AC. Im a level 19 here are my stats

Strength-18/83
Dex-19
con-17
int-10
wis-10
char-11

AC -15
thaco -10
all of my saving throws are all lower than -5 or -6

Attacks per round= 3
I researched my character very throughly before making him. then i spent an half an hour or more to role his stats. You have to get all the right equipment to get stata such as these. I dont recommend magical armour because than to cant wear cloak of protection +2. I have red dragon armour -1ac +50% fire protection, helm of balduran +1 to ac, ring of regeneration heals 1 hp every 6 sec, ring of gaanax +2 ac, same as ring osion and it does some oher suff to.cloak of protection +2. equilizer sword, daystar, blade of roses +3. boots of speed, fortress sheild,book of infinite spells ( awesome item). gauntlets of expertise. girdle of giant frost strength,amulat of spell warding

 

I played D2 as a paladin once thorugh to the end on the first level of difficulty. I must admit that I was suckered in by all the hype.

I have never played a PnP RPG before but I have had fairly extensive experience playing CRPGs.

D2 is not my cup of tea. It's all hack 'n' slash with a superficial story line to justify the game's existence. The endlessly spawning monsters (including bosses) also got irritating after a while; every time I restarted I had to clear out previously cleared out areas. It got VERY tiring after a while. While the FMV sequences were good, those only get your attention at the beginning - they have no "staying" power in terms of keeping the player interested. While there were some good innovations (magical items and sets) overall there's not enough content to make me want to start a fresh game, even though I have not tried the other 'kits' (barbarian, archer, etc).

BG2 is completely different. It's pretty close to my idea of what a RPG should be - lots of non-linearity, interesting quests, quests that do not depend on combat for resolution, interaction between the PC and NPCs, a large world to roam in, all of which are absent in D2.

So if you're into RPGs, you can't go wrong with BG2. I am not familiar at all with AD&D and I still have much to learn about the game system, although I have tried some computer AD&D games.

Some of the other titles I've played include:
Ultima 4 - 6
Might & Magic 4 - 7
Magic Candle
Betrayal at Krondor
Fallout 2
Wasteland
Wizardry
Wizardry 7
Bard's Tale 1 - 3
Pool of Radiance
Eye of the Beholder III
Planescape Torment

There are probably a few more but the above titles are what I can recall.

[This message has been edited by Hayashi (edited April 19, 2001).]

 

:/ Actually I rather enjoyed Diablo2, granted it was too hyped up (kinda like Men In Black the movie) but as far as hack and slash games go, it was pretty good, not to mention it had the best cinematics I've ever seen since the FF series on PS and I liked the main storyline. I agree, it cannot be compared with BG1 or BG2 because it wasn't that kind of game. But in it's genre, it was better then the rest. I still preferred Diablo1 though... those Steel Knights died really kewl