-
- Forums
- Chatrooms
- Gallery
- Gameplay Videos
- Upload
- Articles
- Mod Reviews
- Shop SP: Games, Movies, Books
|
|
|
Icewind
Dale II Basic Tips
by Chris Avellone, Designer at BIS |
Any
hints for Icewind Dale II?
Now since I designed a large chunk of the first area of the game you're
going to find yourselves in, I thought I would crap out some common-sense
adventuring advice and some not-so-common-sense adventuring advice once
you step off the ship and run around like a jaybird along the cliffs of
Targos.
The following general advice can help you in your adventuring in Icewind
Dale II. I know all you hardcore special forces RPGers have heard this
junk a million times, so you can test out of this class and skip the next
few paragraphs. If you need a refresher course, read on.
Tips for the Icewind Dale II Adventurer
Save Often: You may have heard this so often your ears are numb,
but it's a philosophy that pays off. Whenever possible, save, and even
better, try to do save games in a different slot. You'll thank yourself
later that you saved the game right before you were ambushed by that score
of fireball-hurling wizards and their death-monk bodyguards. Nothing hurts
more than losing two or three hours worth of playtime and having to go
back to an older save game.
Wear Clothes: Do not play Icewind Dale II naked. C'mon, really.
Keep your "Heart of Fury" where it belongs, no matter how hot that female
halfling portrait is.
Pick Pockets: If you're not burdened by a guilty conscience, a
good Pick Pocket skill will serve you well in most inhabited places in
the game, where you might need to supplement your income without harming
anyone in the process. Just be sure to save your game first in case you
are detected. You can often get some extra arms, potions, and even UNIQUE
KNICK-KNACKS by pick pocketing certain characters in the game, making
the Pick Pocket skill especially useful.
Stay Sober: It is not funny to intoxicate your Dreadmaster, then
go into multiplayer games and start casting Finger of Deaths willy-nilly.
Some players get really angry about this.
ALT key: The ALT key is the greatest hotkey in the game. Just
hold it down, and ALL doors and containers and ground items in the area
are highlighted. You should always keep your left pinky hovering over
the ALT key and stab it occasionally while playing to see if you've missed
anything.
Containers: You may not be able to carry all the stuff you find
on your adventurers. Whenever possible, try to stake out a container in
the nearby vicinity and dump all the excess loot you can find into it.
If you don't do this, you risk the chance that items lying on the ground
will vanish over time.
Combat: The space bar is your friend. When you see an enemy, hit
it, and then drag your cursor over your opponents to see what you're up
against. Whenever possible, it's best to aim for wizards, archers, and
missile troops first with your missile weapons, then move on to other
opponents. Stopping time in the middle of the battle is like being in
the MATRIX!
"Blah blah blah, but Chris, I KNOW all this because I'm hardcore! I am!"
Well, smart guy, do you know... THIS?
Adventuring
in Targos
The following information is presented as an aid to beginning adventurers
in Targos. Targos is the first town in Icewind Dale II. If you'd rather
walk into Targos cold with no potential spoilers, then stop reading here
and skip on to the next section, which I hear is funny and filled with
drunk icons.
Choose the Right Weapon: Just because a Bastard Sword does twice
as much damage as a dagger doesn't mean it's better. If your character
doesn't have the feat for proficiency in using a Bastard Sword, chances
are you're going to have a lot of difficulty hitting your enemies. If
given a choice between using a weapon you have a martial weapon feat in
vs. one you don't, go with the sure bet - any goblins you encounter probably
aren't tough enough to survive a strike from a dagger anyway.
Resting: Your party needs rest in order to recover spells and
heal. Not only can you rest on the Wicked Wench under Hedron's watchful
eye (the Wicked Wench is the ship you sail into port on - and Hedron is
the effeminate sailor who is your "captain," if you know what I mean),
but you may be able to rest elsewhere in town, provided no hostile critters
are in the area.
Bashing Doors and Containers: If you encounter a locked door or
container and your characters are miserable at picking locks, the door
and the container can still be bashed open. To do this, simply click on
the attack icon at the bottom of the main screen, then select the door
or container you wish to bash open. Your character will "attack" the door,
and if he or she is strong enough, you'll bash it open.
Talk to Everyone: Talk to everyone you meet. Chances are each
one has some piece of information that can aid you. This information may
SEEM innocuous at first, but trust me, it may open up additional dialogue
options later on. And knowing is half the battle.
Talk to Everyone When Things Change: If the town happens to be
in the middle of an attack, chances are no one will have time to speak
to you. Sometimes it's best to speak to them again when an emergency has
passed - they may prove to be more informative then.
Journal: Your journal can prove helpful if you get stuck. If you're
not sure how to complete a quest, simply look at the information in your
journal and see if it provides any clues for where to go, what to do,
or who to talk to next. Your journal's your friend... use it.
Charisma Based Skills: Charisma-based skills, like Bluff, Intimidate,
and Diplomacy, will allow you to reap greater financial rewards from quests
in Targos as well as short-circuit some quests simply by persuading people
to let you do things "your way." You won't lose any experience by doing
things this way - in fact, you'll be rewarded for using your Charisma-based
skills to bend the quests you encounter to your will. Isn't that cool?
Sure it is!
Stubborn NPCs: Some of the folk in Targos are as stubborn as a
mule. If you can't get them to help you, or if you can't convince them
of something, you may want to switch to a high Charisma or Intelligent
character and let them do the talking. Drow and Duergar may encounter
prejudice but don't let it get you down.
Paladins: Paladins have a number of special abilities, but a great
many of these abilities stem from their selfless, altruistic natures.
You may notice that any quests that paladins undertake in Targos glean
you little in the way of gold (though you'll still get experience points
for completing the quests). If you're a money-hound, make sure you have
someone else in your party broach accepting missions and quests - and
be the one to speak to the quest-giver once the mission is completed.
Monks: Monks suffer the same limitation as paladins - their orders,
no matter how evil or self-serving, do not allow for the accumulation
of material wealth. This is a completely arbitrary decision that has made
Dave Maldonado hunger for my death on many occasions. If you'd like to
get paid for your missions, it's best if you do not have the monk be the
one "accepting" the reward, or else they will simply refuse it.
Sleep: Resting is important. So is the SLEEP spell. In fact, SLEEP
is proving to be the most painless way to deal with legions of goblins
and orcs you may encounter in your travel - when offered a choice of spells,
make sure you choose... SLEEP. Now available with no bad aftertaste or
unfortunate side effects.
I had some "funny" development humor before someone reminded me that developer
humor isn't funny, even to developers. As an example, I went in to see
smilin' Bernie Weir (our lead programmer) the other day for help on how
to turn my computer on, and he was chuckling about "expensive math" that
he had to remove from some programming calculations. Huh? What the hell
is funny about "expensive math?" Then I realized he was laughing at me
because I wasn't wearing any pants. Again.
