A second try at Baldur's Gate II

Sometimes I get these urges to play something and they are uncontrollable. Such as a few days ago when I decided that I really needed to try beating Baldur's Gate II. I'd been playing it a few years ago, but way too much shit was going on in my life and that game's way too engrossing and life-stealing for me to handle both it and real life.

So, it's take two!

As opposed to my wuss good-guy Paladin from the first trek, I figured I'd go with a character more along my heart — a Chaotic Neutral fighter. I can excuse good deeds because of the need to help people to get rewards and I can excuse the bad things I'll do because I just don't care about law and stuff.

My eventual party will be more evil than good, as both Edwin and Viconia are among the best of their class in the game. My second pure melee is a bit of a question. Korgan kicks ass, but is another pure fighter. However, both Minsc and Keldorn would have potential "hate...KILL" relations with other characters. Thief could go for the Imoen/Yoshimo/Imoen combo, as story dictates, or I could endure potato stories to have Jan. That might depend on how much questing I do before the Spellhold/Underdark phase of the game, as the longer I wait, the more underleveled Imoen would be. Jahiera would be the frontrunner for the final spot due to a couple great druid-only spells, but Mazzy could be a possibility. Any other character would be temporary character quest-only stuff.

So far, I'm in the first dungeon! Great progress, that! I just took out the Duergar battle with Ilyich and even showed some use of strategy by blasting the melee ones with a fireball before charging. Now I just need to remember how to take out the sewer Otyugh without getting diseased, as I don't think I have any cure disease spells. And since it's next, as I think I'll save the Cambion fight until the end of the dungeon.

Having knowledge of this place helps in being tricky...like smashing the two deactivated lesser clay golems one-by-one, as opposed to waiting until you trigger the alarm and fighting them both at once with no opportunities to sucker-punch them.

In other news: In the final dungeon of Cthulhu Saves the World, finished Chapter 5 in Resonance of Fate, at 4-3 of Yoshi's Island and am working on a SECRET MYSTERY REVIEW to put up today.

Comments 6

overdrive Blogger Aug 5, 2011

Fun things I noticed last night:

1. Don't know if it was just because it's the Tutorial Dungeon, but the Otyugh's disease infliction is temporary. I only had one character infected and he self-cured while I was searching chests for possible remedies.

2. That Cambion was easier than I remember. Either that or my 18/92 strength fighter, Minsc and an actual lucky critical hit bow shot by Imoen just tore through him before he could do more than connect on one or two attacks to my fighter (the best guy to attack, as that 18 Constitution and apparently some lucky HP dice rolls in creation gave him over 100 HP). I remember the first time I fought it, I won, but barely avoided losing a character (in-battle healing went down there!).

darketernal Aug 15, 2011

Strongest characters in the game are Edwin, a character you get only if you have ToB(don't want to spoil stuff), Korgan is the best pure fighter in the game, and he can go into berserk rage, and Viconia is probably the best healer-cleric. Evil characters rock in this game, though Keldorn is a beast as well, if only because he's the only character that can equip the Holy Avenger, which is the strongest weapon in the game, unless your main character is a paladin.

Jan is great for giggles. Thieves are lackluster, Yoshimo is awesome, but Imoen is pretty bad.

overdrive Blogger Aug 15, 2011

Yeah. I'm using Chapter 2 to get through the good characters and their quests. Finished with Aerie and working with Nalia and Anoman right now. With Minsc (prefer to get Korgan and Edwin at the same time, as their character quests are so close together) and Jaheira (romance quest with plenty of exp. will keep her around for some time), as well as Yoshimo. I'll pick up Jan and Keldorn when finished with Nalia and Anoman. When they're done, it's time to pick up Edwin, Korgan and Viconia and start Chapter 3.

I just wish Keldorn's do-gooderness didn't lead him to pick fights with certain evil characters. Him with that +5 sword you get for killing Firkraag would be a perfect addition. I guess Korgan with the Crom Faeyr will blunt the sadness from not having that, though.

overdrive Blogger Aug 16, 2011

Ah yes...I remember the part I was doing last night. The D'Arnise Hold area where you get to meet an Iron Golem before you have more than 1 or 2 weapons that can damage them. Leading one to employ various cheap tactics designed to take advantage of how they're too big to fit through doors.

darketernal Aug 21, 2011

Area spells are probably your friends, forgot how many spells they are immune to, but I remember that when I played, the bugged at one chapter, which made it impossible for me to leave and finish the chapter because I couldn't talk to the NPC that you had to contact to finish it(he always appeared busy). The only alternative was to slay a white dragon that gave you the quest, that had a scroll that could teleport you out of that area. That was a fun, cheesy fight, covered with countless Horrid wilting's and cloudkills and what have you, just to survive.

overdrive Blogger Aug 22, 2011

I'm not quite ready for dragon fighting yet. I have started killing vampires (since they do occasionally accost me while traveling through the city). Which can lead to the occasional fit of rage like last night when while traveling to the Harper Hold in the port area for part of the whole Jaheira quest deal, three of them jumped me and were going to fight me no matter what. I got my Negative Plane Protections cast on my two melee fighters and things were going great...until one of them "fear'd" one of my fighters and the other one couldn't finish them off before his wore off, leading me to have to blow a grand at the local temple for restoration. At least you don't lose experience towards the next level like you did in the old Gold Box games. That would have been cruel.