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Disadvantages of removing XP Cap

Discussion in 'BG2: Throne of Bhaal (Classic)' started by Amnasty, Oct 5, 2012.

  1. Amnasty Gems: 1/31
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    Soloing Fighter/Illusionist Protagonist managed to hit level(s) 24/20 by the end of Chapter 5 Sequences in Beholder Den which for the rest of bits upto arriving Athkatla was completely halted in progression forcing me to recruit couple of NPC's just to stop wasting XP's.

    I want to install XP cap removal so that any multi-class solo session continues to grow in power but at the same time it appeared completely against game rules, just like, unaware of developer's intent in making Caps for some reason.

    That's why I would like to know are there any disadvantages for Multi-class characters progressing beyond the original cap(s) via artificial means .i.e mods offering xp cap removal?

    It makes no sense to me why halting multi-class players beyond certain levels since individual classes are still within acceptable 8 million XP. By capping the Total XP many combos of varied classes never get the full potential compared to dual-classed or single classed reaching beyond 30 levels. Triple Classing is what hurts the most since there is no way to progress by game rules and soloing hits the Cap way too early before Chapter 6.
     
  2. Paracelsi

    Paracelsi Distinguished Member ★ SPS Account Holder Adored Veteran Pillars of Eternity SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!)

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    Because limits work, and they make the game more enjoyable. The strain of leveling 3 classes at once should come with a reasonable price. Also the game wasn't meant to be soloed. Thing is, if we start building on having everyone reach their max potential then it would end with everyone becoming godlike beings with reality-altering powers. There are already so many ways to raise someone's attribute to 25 in BG2 which, I believe, in D&D terms at the time meant god-equivalent. Upon reaching level 20+ you are already a being on par with the strongest mortals in the realms.

    That aside, I don't think there are any disadvantages to using the xp cap remover unless you're playing a single class character (40 in each class is the absolute max level, unless you download some other mod). It works best with triple classes, though you might wanna download some of the fixes in G3's tweak pack so you can cast the HLA spells. It seems F/M/Ts were originally designed to not have spell HLAs. More on that here. I'd also recommend using Shadowkeeper to make everyone a multiclass, it wouldn't make sense to waste the extra XP.
     
    Last edited: Oct 5, 2012
  3. Amnasty Gems: 1/31
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    For dual or single classes it is perfect to halt them since it fits the total cap exactly 8 million but that's not the case with multi-class. The game caps the Multi-class characters for Total XP and not Levels attained by the individual classes which are still low and way behind 8 million and that's what makes it unrealistic.

    Game should have allowed individual classes in combo to hit 8 million but do not allow HLA for total 3 million. This negates many unbalances and still works nicely.

    Thanks. I will follow the natural game flavor for now as suggested! :)
     
  4. T2Bruno

    T2Bruno The only source of knowledge is experience Distinguished Member ★ SPS Account Holder Adored Veteran New Server Contributor [2012] (for helping Sorcerer's Place lease a new, more powerful server!) Torment: Tides of Numenera SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!)

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    Soloing is not about following natural game flavor (whatever that is). Soloing is about powergaming and crushing your opponents because you have a godlike character who looks at the rest of society as "little bags of xp's".

    By soloing you've basically already crushed the intend of the designers so you may as well go whole hog here and remove the XP cap.

    Ummm ... no. What part of 8 million XP's is realistic? For that matter what part of D&D rules are at all realistic? Why would allowing 8 million in each class be balanced in any way?
     
  5. MrMermaid

    MrMermaid Reality is merely an illusion, albeit persistent Resourceful

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    I have to admit, I found soloing the game to be really quite boring, once you start getting HLAs. Generally speaking, though, if annihilating your enemies with impunity is your kinda thing, remove the cap. If you'd rather be overcoming challenges, where your enemies are usually technically more powerful than you, by using tactics and intelligence, then not only would I leave the absolute cap of 8,000,000 active, but I'd go as far as reinstalling the SoA cap of 2,950,000. That provides a much more challenging (and, to me, enjoyable) experience, especially when soloing.

    Bear in mind that, as far as I remember, once any class exceeds the 40th level then the game engine goes crazy and loops it back round to 1st level, or something like that. I forget the details, and I've never tried it myself, but I recall reading that somewhere.
     
  6. henkie

    henkie Hammertime Resourceful Adored Veteran New Server Contributor [2012] (for helping Sorcerer's Place lease a new, more powerful server!)

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    Why would soloing be about powergaming? You can just be role playing someone who doesn't like company and prefers to do everything by himself. And quite a few fights will still be more difficult than they would be with a full party, even if the full party is at a lower level.
     
  7. Ineth

    Ineth Instigator Pillars of Eternity SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!)

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    But the game would have to be designed/balanced with that possibility in mind, which BG2 clearly wasn't.
    Even with my party of 4, I became much too powerful at the end of SoA (with ToB installed) after I surpassed the traditional 2.9M SoA cap.

    On a (shamelessly SPAM'y) sidenote, Project Eternity will be designed from the ground up in such a way that any party size (from soloing, to filling all 5 companion slots) will result in a balanced and challenging gameplay experience. At least that's what the devs have promised.
     
    Last edited: Oct 5, 2012
  8. SlickRCBD Gems: 29/31
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    I think this is a matter of personal preferences, but I dislike games that scale the difficulty like that and try to prevent level grinding. It seems to take away most of the reward for getting more powerful, since the enemies just get more powerful to match.
    On the other side, I hate games that force you to level grind every time you enter a new area, either to get money to upgrade the equipment or just gain the stats. It's generally very difficult to get the right balance however, and only a few games have managed it. Baldur's Gate does a great job of it. It's only people who try things that clearly weren't intended by the developers that make people say BG (either) is broken like that. Besides, in the beginning the challenge of soloing is much greater as you are far weaker. For the first half of the game you are too weak alone, it's not until near the end that you get too powerful, and that wouldn't be the case if you still had the SoA XP cap rather than the ToB one.

    The soloers that complain that you get too powerful should try level squatting after getting 2,800,000 XP (or just your first HLA). You will find that you do NOT get "too powerful" in SoA that way. Remember, that was the original limit for SoA before ToB was added. For RP purposes, pretend that you can't continue to get more powerful until you get your soul back and undergo the Hell trials. Once you get to ToB, level up.
     
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