game is WAY too hard...

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Well... I'm not so sure it was completely uncalled for. Those of us that have been around for a while understand Barmy's often short and blunt comments.

To many of us who know him that means "BG2 is easy once you understand the tactics involved." To a newcomer Barmy's comments could easily be interpreted as "You're obviously a moron because can't play this simplistic game."

Now, I don't want to speak for Barmy -- but I think he meant the former and not the latter. But I can't say I blame Coffinworm for taking it as the latter.

 

So true...I cant remember how many times Ive played this game, over 20 no doubt, and I 'still' find new things. Like the special door in the bridge district with the many bad things that kill you, without giving too much away...I only found that within the last month.

 

Thanks man, that's sound advice. It's very surprising to me how everyone seems to be in agreement that IWD is much harder, but I had no problem with it at all. Maybe it's the way the game kinda holds your hand and tells you where you should be going and it's alot less overwhelming. Plus, you start out at level 1 and you can gradually groom your party members into what you want them to be.

Anyways, I gave up in Windspear Hills and returned to Athkatla to do a quest in the sewers. I ventured no further than 20 paces and was assaulted by a big group of warriors and two mages who made short work of my ass in no time flat! Endless frustration... I even turned the difficulty down to novice and still got laid to waste...

I'm obviously just not playing it right, nobody else seems to have this much trouble. You guys have no idea how much I want to get into this though, which is why I'm giving it so many chances.

Oh yeah, another thing that makes my day! Say one of my guys gets charmed, my other party members will actually drop what they're doing, ignore the actual enemies and start attacking the guy who's charmed!!! That's EXACTLY what I wanted them to do hahahha.... game sucks.

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In my opinion, if a game requires the use of spoilers, then the game is a failure. Right now my posts are being distorted by frustration but to me this game is broken at it's core. The dialogue isn't even all that great. For example, must everyone stutter?

 

Well, you didn't want any spoilers or I would have warned you about them. That's a really tough battle. You want to avoid them (go down a different sewer entrance) and come back when you're higher level.

In spite of what some people may say, it is hard the first time. I don't like reloads, I don't like preping for battles my characters should not know about -- yet it's required at times in the game. I also never use the AI (I think it sucks). Period. I direct my own guys and put pauses in place to ensure I have full control over the fighting. This prevents anyone from disengaging when I don't want them to or engaging the wrong enemy. It allows me to focus on what I consider the greatest threat -- not what the computer has decided should die first.

I've never noticed anyone stuttering in the game (only in Khalid in BG1). Are you sure you're completely patched? Also (and I dread the follow on arguments that may occur) you may want to add a fan-based bug fix. We have some available on this web site. I've used the Baldurdash FixPack and it worked great. I've also heard good things about the Sorcerer's Place FixPack as well.

 

Bruno - Aerie?

Otherwise I can't think of any other stutterers. (Gosh that is an awkward word)

You can always alter the AI scripts on your Party and turn them off by pressing 'a' and run away from a hard battle.

Better part of valour and all that. Regrouping can be a useful tactic. Fighters will chase you, ranged and magic will not, so you can pick them off one by one, presuming you don't run into other things and make a Bhaalspawn Sandwhich.

But then it's just funny

 

What I meant by stuttering is how every other NPC in the game, when referring to themselves in first person usually, it goes like "I... I am gay blahblahblah" or "My... my wife is dead blahblahblah" etc. I'm just ranting about nonsense now, but it does grate on my nerves.

Anyways, I'm cool now and might go back to it in a bit and avoid that battle (ridiculous)...

I'm half tempted to just follow a walkthrough...

 

You should also save up your pennies and go to Adventure Mart and stock up on some good gear, you will need it. There is plenty of gold around to kit your party out in the best gear AND give the money to whoever you choose to rescue Imoen. I usually dont have any clerics memorizing healing spells since there is far too many potions of healing around. My monk has 40something of them in his quickslot at the moment, all of them ones Ive picked up from various places, and Im only 15 days (game time) into the game.

 

Coffinworm: The low spoiler walkthrough is quite good. You may be more interested in the Universal Hint System (also good). The advantage of the UHS is it gives you just as much information as you want -- it's in layers. You click on the next layer of hint if you want more information.

Both are located here.

 

Beating BG2 requires actually less skill than IWD since less freedom to create characters does also mean less freedom to mess up. This also means that experienced AD&D players don't have a much easier first time than noobs. It's unfair for both kinds of players, experts only have to metagame a little less, so there's no need to doubt your skill.

BG2 is not made for roleplaying. If you want to roleplay through an IE game I recommend IWD2 or Planescape:Torment, they're fair and better balanced (although beating IWD2 requires more skill than BG2).

Consider BG2 as a showcase for AD&D lovers who usually play low level characters in their campaigns and want to powergame with uber high level characters. Rare powerful mage spells which require exotic and expensive ingredients can be bought at every simple shop and can be cast for free and lots of ultra powerful items can be obtained.

Instead of realistic encounters you'll stumble over supposedly epic mages/dragons/lichs/beholders/vampires again and again and can start to overpower each other. It's not about adventuring, it's about "Wow, my characters are now so powerful that I could defeat epic AD&D monster xyz", with a little party banter and other things thrown in for entertainment.
There are many cheesy abusive methods to turn the game into a piece of cake even for beginners, but thrust me, you don't want to know them. A victory feels more epic if you've to struggle hard for it.

 

I'm currently playing through the game for the first time. I, too, have experienced a lot of the frustration experienced by the author of the original post.

Personally, I think this game is harder for the first-time player than either of the Icewind Dale games. Those two games are both fairly linear in their plot and the areas that you visit. It's hard to run into monsters that are way above your party's power level.

But BG2 is not. There are so many different quests that you can undertake - so many different areas to explore. Some of them are a breeze. And some will get a party of 8-10th level characters killed almost instantly. When you run into the latter, it's very frustrating.

I would echo the suggestion that the original poster consider availing himself of at least some assistance via walk-through guides.

I would also suggest using some of the gold to purchase some high-quality magic items. The gold supply seems nearly endless. You can buy some good stuff and still raise enough money to get to the quantity of gold you need to move on to the next chapter towards your rescue of Imoen.

 

I had forgotten there was a difficulty level...

 

The difference between IWD and BG2 when it comes to the difficulty slider is that in IWD you get less xp if you turn it down, more if you turn it up, yet in BG2 you get the same no matter how high or low you have it. I played my first few runs through BG2 on easy, but now I only play core.

 

Not exactly. In pure IWD you get less XP at easy difficulties, but not more XP on hard (just like in BG). In IWD with HoW installed you get more XP when you don't play normal difficulty, double XP at the easiest level for example.
In BG2 the expansion does also have an effect on difficulty, with ToB installed you get an additional +8 luck bonus at the easiest level which does change a lot, without ToB the easiest level doesn't make BG2 much easier, monsters only do 1/3 less damage compared to normal.

IWD2 has the best level scaling since enemy numbers, AC, hit bonus and saving throws are also affected besides the damage per hit.

 

Just a tip (or a reminder) - you can turn off the AI off by clicking the lantern icon in the lower right-hand corner - this will allow you control all the actions of your party members (just remember to turn it back on or else they will just stand around when you need them to work on their own).

I find the "auto-pause" feature really handy for battles. With the game paused, I can assess the situation and change strategies if needed. If might seem anti-climatic, but in any encounter you really need to manage each character to use the best of their abilities, spells, gear, etc. It is a lot to think about, but that's part of what makes the game so satisfying (and downright addictive) - the possibilities are endless. It is a hard game to get into, so much to deal with, but once you get into this world it is so much fun to explore. I much prefer this to games with linear plot lines, where you are supposedly free to explore, but actually limited to a small range of options (of which perhaps only one is the "right" one).

Spellcasting is REALLY important in BGII. In BGI I pretty well hacked and slashed my way through, but with the higher level encounters you cannot get away with that (at least not without proper preparations). I did a LOT of research on the spells - the guides in the tips part of the website are great, especially Xyx's, which provides a great overview of spellcasting strategies. Casting the right spell can completely change the tide of battle - encounters that previously had my entire party dead were suddenly resolved with only a few scratches - ie. Web plus Cloudkill on the gang in the sewers (and never discount the "run like hell" strategy, to drag out individual enemies and pick them off), and casting Summon Nirshuu on the DemiLich in the tomb.

Anyhow, I'd say keep at it. I just started myself, and I have to say it's great to see that people are still getting into Baldur's Gate, years after it's been released. I think that is a testament to the quality and depth of this game. I haven't played IWD so I can't speak from experience, but it seems to me that you cannot compare these games - they are different animals and therefore require very different approaches.

 

Thanks for the help buddy. I think I'm pretty much done with BG2. I played it a bit today, went to the sewers, rescued Haer'Dalis, returned to the Five Flagons, jumped into the portal and got chewed up by everything down there. I'm not going to say this game seems impossible, but I have no patience for reloading adnauseum. There's nothing fun about that and for me it completely ruins the experience. Also, I don't like the idea of having to exploit the AI by pulling out individual enemies to pick them off.

I enjoyed the first BG and IWD immensely, there were a few problems but nothing as glaring as the difficulty of BG2. I really doubt I'm going to return to this game again. I've been wanting to play all of the 2nd edition oriented games before moving on to 3rd edition so I think I'm going to move on to Temple of Elemental Evil next and skip this turd altogether hahaha... a shame really.

Actually, I think if I could do a full install of BG1 and convert it with TuTu I'd probably replay that one again. I'm using WinXP and have the Original Saga edition so I can only do a minimum installation. Anyone know how to get around this?

Thanks dudes!

 

I pretty much just hack and slashed my way through SoA the first time. I did more spellcasting in BG1 (especially since Big D already had 'Fireball' when I rescued her).

Coffinworm -- you keep picking the worst spots to go. I'm beginning to think you have the worst luck of anyone who's played the game. The astral prison is another difficult encounter -- it is absolutely brutal.

I can see your point with the game in general. I just think with the mentality of the average game player (who relies on reload rather than a well thought out attack plan) the designers believed overpowered encounters would keep the game interesting. For some it works, for others it is a real pain.

 

how do you simply hack and slash through it when you're up against so many spell casters and status effects? My fighters are basically worthless against mages until my necromancer casts Breach to eliminate their protections and he can only cast that spell ONCE.

 

Nearly every protection will go down given enough hits or enough time. You can go after the mages (and liches) after gaining a few more levels. It's important to find weapons and armor with special effects -- such as the axe I mentioned earlier. Some items offer great immunities, other cause damage for several rounds (which prevents mages from casting).

Although melee weapons are dominant in this game, nothing takes down mirror image as well as a bow (you can get one as loot with an extra attack per round when completing the quests in the Copper Coronet). I will always target a mage with a bow first (although usually only with my thieves unless I have an Archer or Mazzy).

Many character types have immunities and special abilities that help. The barbarian or berserker rage gives a lot of immunities to spells -- send Minsc or Korgan into a berserking rage near a mage (just keep everyone else away). The Inquisitor has a dispel magic which will take down nearly every magical defense -- you can either grab Keldorn in the sewers or make your own (any paladin becomes much more powerful when you acquire the holy avenger, Carsomyr). Jaheira can cast Iron Skins on herself, making her completely invulnerable to physical attacks for 10 times her level of damage (the spell lasts for 12 hours -- so walk around with it on).

A party with Jaheira, Minsc and Keldorn can pretty much take on anything in the game -- provided you don't attack the really powerful stuff too early.

Creatures will generally target the first character they see. If that's Jaheira with her Iron Skins you're usually going to kill it before it even harms her. However, if that creature is an umber hulk (which casts a confusion gaze attack) and Jaheira isn't protected (although she can be with Chaotic Commands), you just had her turned into a crazed invulnerable fighter who will target the closest party member. However, if Minsc is leading the party, while wielding the 2-handed sword Lilarcor (immunity to confusion), the gaze attack from the umber hulk is harmless.

Once again, I do not use the AI. I use frequent pauses. I micromanage my battles.

 

I tend to agree with T2Bruno, you pick the worse things a new party should do...I think its just the bad luck of being unprepared. I had the same thing in Morrowind, Arcanum, and various other rpgs where it was only on around my 5th time playing the game that I actually made the right choices based on my failings the previous times. You should really consider the UHS for BG2, theres no shame in using it, Ive had to use it many times. The first time I went through BG2 I had a Jester as a main character, and it was the worst decision ever, I ended up just doing the routine hack'n'slash the whole way.