What mods do YOU recommend

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I've always liked using mods but never cheats or "make character a god" cheats. Why not cheats? Hell, in a single person game only person you cheat is yourself out of a great game.

However, I'm new to modding BG2. I don't know jack squat and jack left town. Everything I've looked up about mods seems to be convoluted and you can't find the forest for the trees. Or, you can't find the good mods due to the bad. Or, everyone uses buzz words that make a novice wonder what they are talking about.


`1. Are there quest mods you would recommend? if so, the longer the better(I love longer quests)
2. Are there dungeon mods that are huge in size?
3. Any NPC mods worth using?
4. Are there "fix problems" mods. By this, they address problems the original creators didn't. For example, the Unofficial Oblivion fix mod fixed probably 100 times more than the Offical fix. One thing I've found is sometimes the Boots of Speed don't work. If you go into the inventory and select them then put it back in the slot, it fixes the haste.
5. Are there mods that simplify item management? No, not bag of holding cheats.

Although I'm a novice\noob in modding BG2, I've modded a ton of other games and even helped in making some mods.

 

Here are my opinions on the matter:

1. There are, but I've never played a huge content mod that was worth my time. I have high standards though. YMMV
   
2. Areas are some of the hardest content to create in IE. Consequently, they're not that common, but there are attempts, even at full conversions. That said, see: (1).
   
3. Sure, but mostly I feel the same as I do about other content mods. In this instance it's much easier to judge what is and isn't good even before you install them.
4. Yes and playing without them isn't recommended. They fix things you didn't even know you wanted fixed. Check out G3 Fixpack and G3 Tweaks to start.
5. I've never really seen the need. I think G3 tweak pack will make things easier in terms of stacking, but the many container items are usually enough even without tweaks.

To summarize, you will never find a consensus among players on what is worth installing, with the exception of stuff like the fixpacks or Dungeon-Be-Gone.

 

1. Are there quest mods you would recommend? if so, the longer the better(I love longer quests)
Nothing i can recommend beyond the tweak packs that mostly contain fixes instead of changes to/additional content. No mods that add companions/content ever really did it for me.
I know that a lot of people swear by the Ascension mod, which was created by David Gaider, a design director for the original Baldur's Gate II, featuring tougher battles, additional bhaalspawn powers and improved slayer transformation, bhaalspawn powers for imoen, the ability to have sarevok change his alignment, as well as the option of recruiting balthazar to your side.
Keep in mind though that to get it to work for bg2:ee you'll have to jump quite a few hoops, something i'm not interested in doing. Still, you can find more info on how to get it all to work here : https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/41418/ascension-in-bg2ee-guide-and-fixes

There's also the unfinished business mod, which restores some quests and revers changes to others that were cut from the final release of the game.
2. Are there dungeon mods that are huge in size?
none that i know of.
3. Any NPC mods worth using?
Like i said, none that i tried before have really done it for me. That said, the one i probably enjoyed the most was the Kelsey mod, giving you the option of bringing along a sorcerer without having to make the PC one.
4. Are there "fix problems" mods. By this, they address problems the original creators didn't. For example, the Unofficial Oblivion fix mod fixed probably 100 times more than the Offical fix. One thing I've found is sometimes the Boots of Speed don't work. If you go into the inventory and select them then put it back in the slot, it fixes the haste.
Yup, check out the BG2Tweaks pack
5. Are there mods that simplify item management? No, not bag of holding cheats.
Nothing beyond allowing unlimited stacking of items, and in bg2:ee item stacks are already bigger then what they were in vanilla bg2. besides, one of the new bg2:ee companions gives you a bag of holding, which you can unlock as soon as act 2, and even if you don't like that new companion, you could just console one in, so no need to use a mod for it.

 

For companion mods, I would recommend these. Keep in mind I don't have EE so I have no clue as to their availability:

Amber: Not overpowered, good dialogue all around, decent voicing, adds additional quests. Has a good romance too.

Yasraena: Another companion with solid dialogue, decent voicing, not overpowered but very good.

Kelsey: Popular enough that it doesn't need describing.

Kivan: Awesome mod if you're a fan of his character like I am, adds additional quests, solid dialogue.

If you have TOB, then absolutely pick up Ascension.

 

Ugh, needing to install the big picture to get ascension working is a horrible plan. There are far less painful ways to do this.

It doesn't look like anyone's made a working standalone EE version though. Might be something I'll work on after I'm done with my BG1 projects. Ascension is definitely something one shouldn't be playing ToB without.

 

Having an easy one-click install of ascension for the enhanced edition would be great. as it is there's a lot of hoops to jump through to make it work without guarantee of not running into a bug that won't allow you to progress.

 

I'll poke Skye, so that we can finish up my Ayden mod, then I'll see what needs to be done about Ascension.

It shouldn't be overly hard to fix, although I am slightly surprised that no one's done it so far. I guess people are content with jumping through hoops.

 

Here is a link to the good mods for BG2 EE. I may be the only one to say this but I loved the Saerileth mod.

https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/23726/bgii-ee-compatible-mod-list

 

Nah, I played a few runs with it as well back in the day. It's not the best thing in the world, but it does have its strengths.

 

For the Enhanced Editions, no. They not only built in the best unofficial fixpack for the original BG2, but also hired the jerk who led the project.

While I recommend Tweaks to everyone--you'll definitely find something you can't live without--it's not a fixpack.

 

I added in some sort of fix and apparently it's working with the Boots of Speed.