Baldur's Gate 3 by Larian Games
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Tuco
I got Tuco'd!
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Yeah, and I find that for the kind of autist gamers in this thread any stat-based RPG like Baldur's Gate is most difficulty early on before we have an opportunity to completionist / metagame it. So the "optimal build" in the early and mid-game might be more important than end-game anyway.
The detriment of multi-classing is offset by the exponential XP requirements, ex: if one looks at the exp tables, with an 89,000 XP cap you can chose a level 7 fighter or a level 6 fighter/mage or a level 5/6/5 fighter/mage/thief
Experience Tables
The Experience Cap of every game is different. Levels beyond 8,000,000 XP in the main campaign can't be reached without mods. In The Black Pits II: Gladiators of Thay a total of 8,950,000 XP would theoretically be possible, as the rule defining files exist for such levels, but it's also an...
But what can a level 6 fighter/mage do that a level 7 fighter can't? Quite a bit, but is it worth the restrictions, lower hit dice and more spread stat allocation? Debatable. I'd argue that in BG1 having your main character either oonga bunga with high melee damage kensaii or tank with high con/dex dwarven defender is optimal. I also don't really like sleeping in BG, so I don't value low-level mages with their 3 pump-chump rotations.
Asshat wormie
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The big brain move is to play single class fighter in BG1 in preparation for dual classing in 2. So I expect most in this thread to play a multiclassed fighter/mage/thief.Yeah, and I find that for the kind of autist gamers in this thread any stat-based RPG like Baldur's Gate is most difficulty early on before we have an opportunity to completionist / metagame it. So the "optimal build" in the early and mid-game might be more important than end-game anyway.
The detriment of multi-classing is offset by the exponential XP requirements, ex: if one looks at the exp tables, with an 89,000 XP cap you can chose a level 7 fighter or a level 6 fighter/mage or a level 5/6/5 fighter/mage/thief
Experience Tables
The Experience Cap of every game is different. Levels beyond 8,000,000 XP in the main campaign can't be reached without mods. In The Black Pits II: Gladiators of Thay a total of 8,950,000 XP would theoretically be possible, as the rule defining files exist for such levels, but it's also an...baldursgate.fandom.com
But what can a level 6 fighter/mage do that a level 7 fighter can't? Quite a bit, but is it worth the restrictions, lower hit dice and more spread stat allocation? Debatable. I'd argue that in BG1 having your main character either oonga bunga with high melee damage kensaii or tank with high con/dex dwarven defender is optimal.
Tholan
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I've played a few timesink games, but BG1 was something else. It would bend the fabric of time and when I started playing around 10pm, after a few minutes the sun would rise and I would hear birds outside.
I hope I'll be as cool with this as my parents were with me when I played up to 7am. "morning dad" -" good night son"
I hope I'll be as cool with this as my parents were with me when I played up to 7am. "morning dad" -" good night son"
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TJT
Mr. Poopybutthole
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I distinctly remember cheesing the Sarevok fight in my early teen years by flooding the BG1 boss room with wands of monster summoning 3 while I lobbed his ass with spells as he slaughtered my poor animals. It wasn't until I replayed it at 17 that I actually understood how to play the game lol.
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TJT
Mr. Poopybutthole
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Enhanced Edition makes Kensai available so you could get part of the way. The problem with it is that Kensai/Wizard is only truly effective because of how quickly you can acquire Celestial Fury.
Tuco
I got Tuco'd!
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I never tried a dual-class because I felt like there is only a window where a dual-classed kensai/mage (or whatever) is optimal, but before and after that window other options are better. Plus I reroll at the start of BG2 (or whenever I feel like it).
TJT
Mr. Poopybutthole
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Dual class Kensai/Wizard solo run is worth it once just because when it hits its stride its ridiculous. But you get there faster than you'd think if you run solo. It really isnt worth it if you're in a group because the cool parts of it don't happen until late game.
Kharzette
Watcher of Overs
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A friend ran that when we multid. He used stoneskin alot and just carved stuff up.
I mostly did prefight buffs. The rallying cry was "gather for nachos!" because the caster sounds like they are saying "Nachos... nachos... something!". Bless and defensive harmony and and and some buffy level 3 I can't remember.
I mostly did prefight buffs. The rallying cry was "gather for nachos!" because the caster sounds like they are saying "Nachos... nachos... something!". Bless and defensive harmony and and and some buffy level 3 I can't remember.
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Rajaah
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I spent like 2 hours last night just creating characters. Eventually I deleted a lot of them and went with my Paladin and a Cleric/Sorc as backup. Then I realized I vastly prefer controlling one character versus controlling a bunch (at least for now) so I started over with just Paladin. Taking today off and I'm gonna hit the game pretty hard.
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Rajaah
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A few hours in now, have a full party and I've gotten used to controlling this many people. I've got Imoen, Jaheira, Khalid, Neera, and Minsc. I think Neera is my favorite character at this juncture. Still on Chapter 1 and everyone's level 1, probably barely made any real progress cause I've been mostly micromanaging and wandering around to get more fast travel points for the map.
In Nashkel now and it looks like there are two dungeons I've got quests for: Nashkel Mines and Gnoll Stronghold. The latter is where Minsc's boo is (not Boo, his other boo) and the party is full, so I'm a little concerned he might take off if we don't have room for her. Should I downsize to five people (Khalid would get the boot) before going there? Don't even know how to put characters in storage yet and I'm still on Chapter 1 so maybe I can't. Doing the mines first in case. Hopefully this is like other games and if you get a new recruit while full, they automatically warp to the character storage location.
In Nashkel now and it looks like there are two dungeons I've got quests for: Nashkel Mines and Gnoll Stronghold. The latter is where Minsc's boo is (not Boo, his other boo) and the party is full, so I'm a little concerned he might take off if we don't have room for her. Should I downsize to five people (Khalid would get the boot) before going there? Don't even know how to put characters in storage yet and I'm still on Chapter 1 so maybe I can't. Doing the mines first in case. Hopefully this is like other games and if you get a new recruit while full, they automatically warp to the character storage location.
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Burns
Golden Baronet of the Realm
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In BG1 the companions should stay where you disband them. It's best to probably leave them at the Inn or a place you will be going back and forth too, a few time. The only exceptions to this are the 4 Beamdog added companions, which go back to where you recruited them, I think.
From the Wiki (the exceptions are the mentioned 4 from Beamdog):
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Tuco
I got Tuco'd!
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Khalid is cursed to be the first party member to get the boot by everybody. Betas finish last.
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Rajaah
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Damn, I shouldn't have gone to the Mines first. Minsc went psycho and I had to kill him! WTF!
Just got his GF. I was super close to getting her when he attacked. No reload is gonna fix it either.
Apparently it also changed over to Chapter 2 recently, not sure when or why. Is that time-based? I still feel like I've barely done anything storywise yet. Getting Minsc's GF rescued from the Gnoll Fortress would feel like my first big accomplishment if I hadn't lost the guy in the process. Maybe I'll just start over.
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Burns
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You don't have multiple saves? Go back, kick Minsc from the party before he attacked you (it's time based, if he is in the party, as he gets sick of waiting for you to help). Go straight for Dyna, then go back and get Minsc, dunno if it will work, but maybe.
Edit: Looked it up, and you might not be able to kick him from the party, so yea, you would need a save close to when you recruited him, then go directly to Dyna and save her. Alternatively, you can save Dyna first, then go get Minsc.
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Pretty sure killing the Cleric boss in the mines is the flag for chapter 2 to start.
Also even if you do go back to a previous save before Minsc zerked out, you will still have to make a choice here when you rescue ol' girl to either kick out Imoen, Neera, or Khalid AND Jaheira as they are a pair. I would kick Neera since I think she is annoying as a character and she's super fucking annoying as a class since Wild Mages require constant save scumming or you get stupid shit like losing 80% of your gold when their spells go wonky. I would probably go back to a save and keep Minsc, but he will still be alive and well in BG2 even if he dies here. And the companions are all way more fleshed out in BG2.
Oh and Khalid is a bro and is the best archer in the game if built well and archery is OP as fuck in BG1.
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Rajaah
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Started over, got back most of the way to where I was pretty quickly. Got Minsc and his GF, but had to boot Khalid, so I lost the hot druid. Was gonna boot Neela and invite them back, but I got Edwin so now I'm back to not really having room.
Speaking of which, where can I get some good caster armor? Edwin and Dynaheir are running around with nothing on.
Gonna redo the Mines and get back to Chapter 2. Pretty fun first day of CRPGing
Edit: Is Xan worth recruiting? Was gonna boot Neela out for him. The boss fight with the guy south of him and the army of adds seems to have my number. Everyone's super close to finally reaching Level 2 (My God, this really is an 80 hour game)
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Burns
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Xan isn't turrable, but he is more of a crowd controller than a damage dealer. He is also one of the potential companions where, if you turn them down (and leave the area?) they will disappear from the game, but if you hire him, you can immediately kick them and they will stay where you left them.
With him you toss out sleeps and charms to take big problems out of fight for a few rounds, while you kill the rest of the mob. CC is really strong in BG, and a good sleep or charm can drastically change the difficulty of some fights. The trade off is, he cant cast the best damage spells in Magic Missile or Fireball.
He still has access to Melf's Acid Arrow, Flame Arrow, and Skull Trap; which aren't that far behind the Evocation spells, if you want him to nuke things. If you keep Dynaheir, she is the opposite specialization and the best nuker in the game (w/ bad CC options), so they complement each other nicely.
Also, Xan can get to really high fire resists, eventually, if you give him the proper items. When over 100% resists in this game, the damage will instead heal that character.
Edit: As others have said, Neera is iffy. Wild Magic can be funny/interesting, but you need to be prepared to save scum a little for it (watch your gold after every fight). As a bonus, she will go back to the Inn, as she is one of the Beamdog companions.
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