But the point was not about the actual fighting and quest completing, which is usually ok, it's about having to go out to those wilderness area and then explore the crap out of them so you can actually find the quest givers or valuable kills. The clockwise square search pattern I used to explore those areas is one of the less fond memories I have of this otherwise great game
well i usually pair up a warrior and another and explore seperately then regroup if they run into trouble, so i can't comment. and you can't expect every area to be chocked with high level/interesting encounters and amazing items? that's far from realistic. the challenge and the rewards lie in exploration! and as you/someone said in another post talking to town criers and listening to rumours point you in right direction
and that's why it feels special when you find the crazy cleric +2 hammer of awesomeness and probably keep it till the end, unlike when you find it again in BG2 and it's not as good as the weapons you already have and it's either only good for gold to save up for some +6 monstrosity or simply leaving it behind.
And you need to find those quests for: 1- the experience, although granted you don't need to find them all for enough experience, but like I said quests are the better method of exp advancement, so you do need to go out and find them, 2- loot: you'll really never get a lot of the equipment you'd need unless you search these areas. And I'm not talking about the ridiculous stuff like the Friendly Arm's Ring of Wizardry, a lot of your gear'll likely come from killing bounty hunters or bandits randomly hanging out in the wilderness, 3- If you're a lore buff like me, you'll probably want to talk to everybody for that obsession. Otherwise you might never learn of Davaeorn's good brother or other interesting but useless stuff.
"shrouded in darkness waaaaaaaa!" yeah, pretty cool
again i'll have to point back to idea that you're rewarded for exploring.
also i think there's enough in the shops and on the main quest line to equip your party well. i don't remember there being any earth shattering from an obscure side quest
It makes it feel less real to me. There's a reason for that cliché about adventurers starting at a tavern. When you're looking for a quest, your best plan is not usually to head out into the wilderness hoping to find someone whose friend was killed by Ogres or whatever. In Baldur's Gate 2, you head out into the wilderness for a purpose, and might encounter other quests on the way, but they're played as actual random encounters. At no point do you go out scouring the Yukon with a comb in search of quest givers.
well like i said i think the fact that there isn't something amazing every hundred yards that makes it interesting and the effort you have to put in to find something makes it better, just my opinion. and see above about talking to people, which in fairness you did say you do
and i think there's enough in those rumours to find the better wilderness encounters.in BG2 everything is handed to you on a plate. copper coronet, people seeking you out etc. though that perhaps is the nature of the series. in BG after all you're a nobody you aren't going to be asked to slay dragons because you'll get smushed! you've got more of a reputation in BG2
Not at low level they don't. 1 spell per day, 2 if you've specialised? Magic Missile does 1d4+1 damage, once per day. A fighter with a bastard sword does - if memory serves, it's been a while - 1d12+strength bonus, which can be as high as +4. Each round. Granted, he has a chance to miss, but still. Sleep and Charm Person are better, but they have a chance of failing outright at which point you've essentially lost your magical power for the day. And if you want Identify, well...
as i said, patience is rewarded. you can't have it all, it's quite typical of RPGs for mages to start weak, take longer to level but then be awesome at higher levels. you have to again put that effort in to get the most out of them. you have magic missle, acid arrow, fireball and a couple of useful defensive spells at a low level. you aren't going to raining heaven from the skies for pete's sake!
thieves level quickly, warriors steadily and mages slowly, it's known. and if you want identify...get a bard! bards are brilliant. actually in one playthrough i levelled a warrior to 4 then dual classed him to mage=high HP mage that swings a sword well and when out of spells puts on some armour...it was awesome!
Yes, of course. Eventually all quests will involve killing people. Although Baldur's Gate 2 had the Shadow Thieves' quest to accumulate a fortune of cash to pay their services or the Radiant Order's negotiation quests or the like, they still involve retrieving and killing at some point. But a lot of the quests in Baldur's Gate have nothing more. Retrieve the Flamedance Ring the Hobgoblins stole, kill the Spider infestation, kill the Ogre that stole that Gnome's belt, and that's just from the one location. None of these quests will lead to anything, or tell you anything about anyone or anything. You don't really feel like you've accomplished much from them either. In contrast, the quests in the Copper Coronet include getting duped by Firkraag, chain quests for various NPCs - Anomen, Korgan, Nalia - which are actual side stories and help develop those NPCs which will be adventuring with you, and a quest to free the gladiatorial slaves.
as i said before, in BG you're a nobody who's only really good (in people's opinion) for fetching and carrying. the quests become much more involved when you've made a bit of a name for youself when you reach the city of Baldur's Gate
i'm not saying that BG2 isn't good. it's bloody brilliant, even ToB is brilliant (despite being slightly linear) who doesn't love a half orc assassin who can take out ranked bosses with a single critical backstab?
but i think that BG has more merit than you credit it for and i think that it's still a better game than BG2 and i love to chat on about baldur's gate
So I gotta know if this is happening to anyone else...
- 30/04/2011 01:22:24 AM
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you must gather your party before venturing forth
- 30/04/2011 10:16:34 AM
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oh god....I hope that narrator makes lots of money. He DESERVES it
- 30/04/2011 10:01:01 PM
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This behaviour must not continue. Feel the burning stare of my HAMSTER and change your ways!
- 30/04/2011 11:43:38 PM
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the best. Particularly since follow-ups having come CLOSE :rollups:
- 01/05/2011 12:25:01 AM
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To me, yes, but then I'm currently playing it, so not as odd.
- 01/05/2011 12:25:17 AM
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- 01/05/2011 12:25:17 AM
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live by the sword live a good long time!
- 01/05/2011 01:30:21 AM
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I've never played the first one - sounds like there are some good lines there too. *NM*
- 01/05/2011 09:44:48 PM
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...how could you play the follow-ups without playing the first one?
- 02/05/2011 01:18:12 AM
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I never played BG1 and still REALLY enjoyed BG2. The story seemed a clean enough break to "get it."
- 02/05/2011 01:14:23 PM
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Yeah, exactly... I don't really feel the loss.
- 02/05/2011 10:50:04 PM
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to put it simply, you're wrong about the gameplay.
- 03/05/2011 01:42:10 PM
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It might clarify things a bit if I say I've never played tabletop RPGs.
- 03/05/2011 10:21:34 PM
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Baldur's Gate requires level grinding though.
- 03/05/2011 11:47:30 PM
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you don't grind
- 04/05/2011 08:36:12 AM
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Depends on your perspective I guess.
- 04/05/2011 06:49:52 PM
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patience is rewarded
- 05/05/2011 09:54:15 AM
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so does every game, honestly. LIFE is level grinding.
- 04/05/2011 10:15:26 AM
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That's not true, and you know it's not true - you've talked about playing games that don't have it
- 04/05/2011 01:18:51 PM
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No. Specifically, I was commenting on Baldur's Gate compared to Shadows of Amn.
- 04/05/2011 07:04:55 PM
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I wasn't aware you were specifically comaring BG to SoA.
- 04/05/2011 07:43:32 PM
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Ah, sorry then. Yes, it was in reply to the improvements of BG2 to BG1.
- 05/05/2011 12:45:55 AM
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Re: Ah, sorry then. Yes, it was in reply to the improvements of BG2 to BG1.
- 05/05/2011 01:16:04 AM
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Re: Ah, sorry then. Yes, it was in reply to the improvements of BG2 to BG1.
- 05/05/2011 02:41:11 AM
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Re: Ah, sorry then. Yes, it was in reply to the improvements of BG2 to BG1.
- 05/05/2011 03:16:08 AM
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I do have the impression that SoA (and certainly ToB) swings a bit the other way regarding mages.
- 04/05/2011 09:40:12 PM
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Yes. It's not the fault of the games though, they're using D&D rules, so it comes with the territory
- 05/05/2011 12:25:21 AM
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Diablo 1 is vastly superior to Diablo 2. Just saying. *NM*
- 03/05/2011 02:22:44 PM
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*NM*
- 03/05/2011 02:22:44 PM
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As I said I haven't played the former, but I really rather doubt it. *NM*
- 03/05/2011 10:22:07 PM
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*NM*
- 03/05/2011 10:22:07 PM
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Diablo 1 wins in the story and atmosphere department.
- 03/05/2011 10:37:30 PM
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If you thought they both had a terrible gameplay...
- 04/05/2011 09:41:46 PM
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Because they're addicting and I'm exaggerating. I have completed both.
- 04/05/2011 10:04:40 PM
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