I just restarted Baldur's Gate II: SoA!

[Liffguard]

I want to just add that I hate you all because now I want to replay this game yet again.

Maybe I'll finally finish off ToB this time. :)

TOB is definitely good, but not a patch on SOA. I have finished it but it's always a bit of a struggle. Partly the reason is that it's just too damn easy. Once your characters are up to that high a level there's nothing that can really challenge them.

[Galactus]

TOB is definitely good, but not a patch on SOA. I have finished it but it's always a bit of a struggle. Partly the reason is that it's just too damn easy. Once your characters are up to that high a level there's nothing that can really challenge them.

Really? I found TOB to be way harder than SOA. (Draconis the Invisible Dragon being a particular PITA) although then again I tended to play with the "Improved Bosses" semi-official mods.

[Galactus]

He's a good thief. Problem with that is Thieves are 100% unnecessary for Shadows of Amn and the only traps you run into in TOB can either be walked around or Imoen can break them. He's basically a waste of a spot that could be used on someone useful. I'd almost rather take Cernd.

Thieves exists to lay traps. Backstab occasionally, but laying (and disarming, for that matter) traps is their primary job.

Traps can make even the toughest boss-fights piss-easy.

The reason you want Jan is because while Nalia and Imoen can take care of the other stuff, they have no trap-laying skills whatsoever.

[Liffguard]

Really? I found TOB to be way harder than SOA. (Draconis the Invisible Dragon being a particular PITA) although then again I tended to play with the "Improved Bosses" semi-official mods.

A sorcerer or wizard with the right spells used in combination is pretty much unbeatable. For example:

Equip the Amulet of Power and Robe of Vecnar for instantaneous casting.

Memorise Abi-Dalzim's Horrid Wilting (or however you spell it)

Dragon's breath

Summon Planetar

Greater Malison

Lower Resistance

Improved Alacrity

Time Stop

Projected Image

Wish

Cast Projected Image. Have the image cast Improved Alacrity and then Time Stop. Spam whatever you're trying to kill with Dragon's Breath and AD's Horrid Wilting. Not dying quick enough? Lower its resistance with Lower Resistance and decrease its saving throws with Greater Malison. Alternatively, summon Six Planetars (for some reason the Image can summon more than one which is normally impossible). Is the thing you're trying to kill still alive? Cast Wish, ask to have all your spells restored, do it again. If the Image gets killed (not likely) just summon another one and do it all again.

Of course, that's just on the offensive side. For defense you'll need Mirror Image, Stoneskin and Immunity to Magic Weapons to be completely immune to melee attacks. Spell Trap will do nicely for targeted spells, absorbing 30 levels of spells and recharging your own spell slots by an equivalent amount. Most area spells won't be doing enough damage to worry you by this point but there's plenty of other defensive spells to cast for those. Or hell, the Cloak of Reflection, making you immune to spell damage.

Basically, a high-level sorcerer or wizard is horribly over-powered. The rest of your party members are effectively meat-shields with no other role than to give the caster the space to cast.

I find it vaguely disturbing that I still remember all this.

[Galactus]

A sorcerer or wizard with the right spells used in combination is pretty much unbeatable.

I should probably note that I've finished the game roughly ten times, once as a solo sorcerer.

Equip the Amulet of Power and Robe of Vecnar for instantaneous casting.

Memorise Abi-Dalzim's Horrid Wilting (or however you spell it)

3x Abi-dalzim's in a chain-contingency is the standard (I'd almost say neccessary) opener in TOB. (usually followed by the standard Time-stop/improve alacrity combo for throwing whatever else you have)

Greater Malison

Lower Resistance

Fairly essential (I tend to throw 3x Lower Resistance into a greater spell sequencer)

There's one issue with Lower Resistance though: It's abjuration (which a lot of people are protected against in TOB) and it's only a level 5 spell. (Demogorgon is immune to spells of level 6 and under, there's actually just one very specific way of getting his magic resistance down)

In fact, Ruby Ray of Reversal is absolutely critical: It's the one "Remove spell protections" spell that can take down 9th level protection spells and *isn't* Abjuration. (It's Alteration) Since most foes in TOB throw up Spell Immunity: Abjuration you need it to get them down.

EDIT: Also, at least as far as I remember, Project Image is an illusion: Most foes in TOB (though not in SOA) are scripted with True Sight, which dispels the image.

[Maia]

Thieves exists to lay traps. Backstab occasionally, but laying (and disarming, for that matter) traps is their primary job.

Ditto and if you don't have Keldorn, then Jan can get True Seeing skill too. Also, he is the only thief who can develop decent pickpocketing.

[Galactus]

Ditto and if you don't have Keldorn, then Jan can get True Seeing skill too. Also, he is the only thief who can develop decent pickpocketing.

Pickpocketing isn't as big an issue, as you can usually reload and there's a ring that gives a decent boost.

While Jan can cast True Sight, so can just about any spellcaster. He IS fairly useful if you get Edwin though, since Edwin can't cast divination spells.

[sologdin]

i still think that SoA is a fuck up insofar as the bhaalspawn civil war was the real story, and the irenicus thingy should've just been a largish but peripheral subquest in act III somewhere; popping the civil war into a rushed add-on for $40 was just whack.

[Slurktan]

Thieves exists to lay traps. Backstab occasionally, but laying (and disarming, for that matter) traps is their primary job.

And? Traps are 100% unnecessary. You can win every single fight in the game without laying a single trap. You just proved my point.

[Sebastian]

EDIT: Also, at least as far as I remember, Project Image is an illusion: Most foes in TOB (though not in SOA) are scripted with True Sight, which dispels the image.

That's why the first spells your image needs to cast are Immunity:Divination and Immunity:Abjuration. ;)

[Maia]

While Jan can cast True Sight, so can just about any spellcaster.

No, the good thing about Jan is that he can use a thief skill for that without the need to waste the slots or time limitations.

I also don't like to reload too much during pickpocketing - it becomes very tedious and feels like cheating.

Slurktan:

There are no abilities that are "necessary" in SoA. It can be completed solo with any class. Traps are great to have though as they cut through all and any protections and innate magic resistances.

[Serious Callers Only]

TOB is definitely good, but not a patch on SOA. I have finished it but it's always a bit of a struggle. Partly the reason is that it's just too damn easy. Once your characters are up to that high a level there's nothing that can really challenge them.

Install ascension then.

And definitely solo.

I did it with a F/M/T

*nods*

[Galactus]

And? Traps are 100% unnecessary. You can win every single fight in the game without laying a single trap. You just proved my point.

You can win every single fight in the game as a single-classed thief too. Your point?

[Slurktan]

You can win every single fight in the game as a single-classed thief too. Your point?

You can win every single fight in the game with just traps eh?

[Demonblade]

If you want to waste spell slots on Knock and Find Traps then yeah, having a thief is pretty useless. I, however, prefer to use up those slots on other things, so I at least bring along Nalia. You can give her a potion and her lockpicking skills increase, so she does at least a marginal job.

[Galactus]

You can win every single fight in the game with just traps eh?

Yep. Well, an occasional backstab is useful too. But really, those nasty TOB-traps can take out just about ANYTHING in sufficient numbers and if placed correctly.

[sologdin]

yeah, but that's no fun. much better to brast hedes with gysarnes, and suchlike.

[Lyanna Stark]

yeah, but that's no fun. much better to brast hedes with gysarnes, and suchlike.

:thumbsup: :laugh:

[DizoakiusMaximus]

I cheated my ass off to beat those games...god they could be tough.

[Lightning Lord]

Okay. What the hell am I doing wrong. I finished the first section, getting out of the dungeon. I did the circus bit in the Promenade, I met some guy that for 20,000 is going to hook me up with some people that know where Imoen is. I freed a gladiator from that dodgy tavern thing.

But now I'm stuck. I can't beat any of the enemies I've since found, which means something is totally wrong with how I am playing this game. There's some guys on the second floor of a building next to the Inn in the Promenade, they kill me. There's the slavers, they kill me. There are some other missions that walkthroughs make me think are even more difficult than these simple tasks.

Basic info/tactic advice?