1. SPS Accounts:
    Do you find yourself coming back time after time? Do you appreciate the ongoing hard work to keep this community focused and successful in its mission? Please consider supporting us by upgrading to an SPS Account. Besides the warm and fuzzy feeling that comes from supporting a good cause, you'll also get a significant number of ever-expanding perks and benefits on the site and the forums. Click here to find out more.
    Dismiss Notice
Dismiss Notice
You are currently viewing Boards o' Magick as a guest, but you can register an account here. Registration is fast, easy and free. Once registered you will have access to search the forums, create and respond to threads, PM other members, upload screenshots and access many other features unavailable to guests.

BoM cultivates a friendly and welcoming atmosphere. We have been aiming for quality over quantity with our forums from their inception, and believe that this distinction is truly tangible and valued by our members. We'd love to have you join us today!

(If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us. If you've forgotten your username or password, click here.)

XP cap, number of PCs question

Discussion in 'Icewind Dale 2' started by Hethan the Skald, Jun 3, 2006.

  1. Hethan the Skald Gems: 5/31
    Latest gem: Andar


    Veteran

    Joined:
    Mar 29, 2006
    Messages:
    136
    Likes Received:
    1
    So I just finished Heart of Winter for the first time and now I'm going for my first run ever of IWD2. I'm preety excited 'cause as much as I love AD&D an IE game with 3rd edition rules seems a lot of fun, too (yeah, I like 3E as well. Some things about it I don't like, but a lot of improvements, too, IMHO).

    Only I'm stuck on character creation. I'm thinking about doing a 4-piece party for the first time (I never played IWD with less than 6, would do if going through it again). I like the classic, functional groups (a priest, a tank, a rogue, an arcane spellcaster).

    So what's the XP cap for regular IWD2? I know characters get up to 30th level (that's about 450.000 XP if I'm not wrong), but that's only reachable if you take your party through the game again on HoF mode, right? Thing is, I don't really intend to do that (not a big fan of HoF, and as much as I liked IWD, I don't really intend to play it again. Unlike BG2, there's not a lot of "real" roleplaying or interesting NPC interaction to make me go back to it, but that's just me).

    Finally, my question: which level can my party achieve playing only IWD (no Hof)? An answer that suits a 6 character party will do.

    Thanks in advance
     
  2. Greystar Gems: 7/31
    Latest gem: Tchazar


    Joined:
    Aug 22, 2002
    Messages:
    240
    Likes Received:
    0
    About 16 ~ 18 levels, depend on how you play (complete every quest and killing every monster or something).
     
  3. kmonster Gems: 24/31
    Latest gem: Water Opal


    Veteran

    Joined:
    Aug 8, 2005
    Messages:
    1,917
    Likes Received:
    28
    Your average party level will be between 16 and 16.9 at the end, it doesn't matter if you have 3,4,5 or 6 characters in your party because of the dynamic fighting XP calculation.
     
  4. raptor Gems: 16/31
    Latest gem: Shandon


    Joined:
    Feb 13, 2005
    Messages:
    808
    Likes Received:
    1
    in short, its usually best to take full 6, since if you run less characters, they will level slightly faster in start, and then get no xp becose they are to "high level" to get xp from such "lowly" monsters (and then they get autoupgraded to thougher monsters that you stil get no xp for).

    basically, you wil end up at same level with 1 or 6 in the end, so what is the point of not taking 6 ?
     
  5. Greystar Gems: 7/31
    Latest gem: Tchazar


    Joined:
    Aug 22, 2002
    Messages:
    240
    Likes Received:
    0
    Actually there are also quest reward, which give you the exact same amount of exp regardless of your party level. Also, playing with a smaller party will allow you to gain level faster, and requires less micro management, so it's quite advantageous.

    I usually play with 6 characters though, it's more interesting and gives you a more "adventuring" mood (probably just me).
     
  6. Da Rock Gems: 5/31
    Latest gem: Andar


    Joined:
    May 31, 2006
    Messages:
    124
    Likes Received:
    0
    To Hethan the Skald:

    You should take advantage of multi-classing in IWD2 (except your spellcasters) - otherwise you may as well just play the Baldur's Gate series instead.

    Also note that my 2 character party (both Drow) are both at level 17, and they haven't met the Guardian yet. Of course, I'm not getting XP for kills anymore...
     
  7. Faraaz Gems: 26/31
    Latest gem: Diamond


    Joined:
    Sep 26, 2003
    Messages:
    2,403
    Likes Received:
    0
    If you level squat twice (all the way through the Ice Temple and again all the way through Dragon's Eye) you could theoretically build up your XP to about lvl 20 playing through normal mode with a party of 4-6. I've done it myself.

    Ideally, 17 is about right for a party of 6...
     
  8. Harbourboy

    Harbourboy Take thy form from off my door! Veteran Pillars of Eternity SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!)

    Joined:
    May 29, 2003
    Messages:
    13,354
    Likes Received:
    99
    I usually end up with one character at about level 21 or 22 by the end of normal mode, but that is because I start off with one character and add others as I go along, rather than starting off with the whole party in place.
     
  9. Hethan the Skald Gems: 5/31
    Latest gem: Andar


    Veteran

    Joined:
    Mar 29, 2006
    Messages:
    136
    Likes Received:
    1
    @ DaRock: you're right. This time I guess my Rogue (who's not just by chance the main ranged fighter) could use a few Fighter levels for better Base Attack Bonus and more feats.

    Is the "give your dual wielder at least 1 Ranger level" tactic a popular one anyway? I heard WotC came up with a workaround for it in D&D 3E, but that's off topic, I guess.
     
  10. crucis

    crucis Fighting the undead in Selune's name Veteran

    Joined:
    Jan 2, 2006
    Messages:
    977
    Likes Received:
    29
    Hethan, with a rogue, you can go multiclassed or pure. If you're gonna stick with him/her as only a ranged combatant, you won't lose much by MC'ing in some fighter levels. But if you like to do some nasty sneak attacking, a pure rogue can be a serious kick-arse backstabber, if used properly.

    Near the end of normal mode, a pure rogue can be doing around 8d6 sneak attack damage, regardless of what weapon you're using (as long as you can sneak attack with it). So that measly little dagger can do some awesome damage when the sneak attack dice are added in.

    Just something to consider.
     
  11. Lord FOX Gems: 6/31
    Latest gem: Jasper


    Joined:
    May 9, 2006
    Messages:
    153
    Likes Received:
    0
    I´ve finished the game trough the HoF mode and at least two of my PCs reached level 30(divinity).
    The way of making this out is a bit cheesy, tricky and annoying, but I´ve discovered by a fluke.I´m not sure about the D&D rules but from what I see, the game calculates the amount of Xp given by killing a certain monster in a dinamic way, if you are at low level, gives you more, and so.... until the point that you get none for killing a big and nasty Motherfxxxx( like a Xvim knigth).
    If you NEVER raise up a level( for example at level 20) and you can keep up with the rest of the game just at level 20, the game still thinks that you are at the ACTUAL LEVEL and not from the amount of Xps that you accumulates.
    Of course, what´s the point of doing this?
    You never get the chance of actually using those great new spells, base attack and HPs, but, and thats a big BUT, you can raise your level just a few moment before the end of the game( the big battle with the twins), and you can get INSTANTANEOUSLY 10 LEVELS!!!!....A hell of a lot amount of HPs, spells, and base attack for THE moment of the game!!!!
    Anyway, is just a small discover, and I like to share it
     
  12. Harbourboy

    Harbourboy Take thy form from off my door! Veteran Pillars of Eternity SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!)

    Joined:
    May 29, 2003
    Messages:
    13,354
    Likes Received:
    99
    That practice is called level squatting and is often combined with the 'mule' process to enable characters to reach higher levels than otherwise would be possible. But you are right that it does have the disadvantage that you miss out on actually playing some of your character levels, so in that sense, reduces some of the point of playing the game.
     
  13. Da Rock Gems: 5/31
    Latest gem: Andar


    Joined:
    May 31, 2006
    Messages:
    124
    Likes Received:
    0
    Level squatting is only really useful for multi-classing. This way, you can avoid that multi-classing penalty.

    Also (less important), I don't like my non-human tank to waste a skill point in "Intimidate" when I pick a fighter level, so I squat to increase a cross-class skill that I actually want!
    Maybe next time I will create a spellcasting tank with a decent INT so that doesn't matter...
     
Sorcerer's Place is a project run entirely by fans and for fans. Maintaining Sorcerer's Place and a stable environment for all our hosted sites requires a substantial amount of our time and funds on a regular basis, so please consider supporting us to keep the site up & running smoothly. Thank you!

Sorcerers.net is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to products on amazon.com, amazon.ca and amazon.co.uk. Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.