Hey, Patient Gamers!
A while ago I bought Baldur’s Gate II: Enhanced Edition on GOG and I think it’s time to finally try it. Do you have any advice for a new player? I do enjoy DnD and I’ve played a handful of cRPGs, but I’m not an expert by any measure.
Other than any advice for playing the game, I’d appreciate if you share your opinion on whether you think I should play the first Baldur’s Gate before playing the second? I read somewhere that it’s not a big loss to skip it.
Going from bg1 to bg2 and ending it with the throne of bhaal expansion is an experience akin to the mass effect trilogy, and with a satisfying(imo) ending. Bg1 is perhaps a good game but i wouldn’t call it great, you CAN start with bg2 but then you’d miss out on the full experience i would at least consider making an attempt at the first one.
As for advice, for bg1 you should get everyone in your party using ranged weapons to start with because they’re super squishy at lvl1 and the enemies you encounter will also be low on hitpoints, you can transition into melee after you get a level or two and some good armor. For bg2 i think combat is super fun and while more complex it’s also less up to the rolls of a single die because everyones level is much higher. If you’re not into the combat there’s story difficulty settings, some people say they enjoyed the game that way but it would feel empty to me.
Thank you very much for the tips! I’ll wait and see if I can get the first game on a discount then.
Get “Baldur’s Gate: Siege of Dragonspear” while you’re at it too. To echo what @nttea said, while each Baldur’s Gate is pretty great on its own, what makes it truly epic and memorable is going from a literal nobody to a godslayer in the span of the series. There are no level resets or character nerfs between the games (apart from you losing most of the equipment) like in most of the other similar series. Instead what rises are the stakes. Basically all BG2 quests are much closer to “slay this dragon, please” than “kill the rats in my basement”, you’re not a rookie anymore and the game treats you appropriately. Unlike in Mass Effect, it’s not just the story that raises stakes, but your tactical options in the actual gameplay increase exponentially too, especially if you have a spellcasting character. Enjoy your adventure!
Even though BG1 isn’t as “grand” feeling as 2, I think it provides a better introduction to the admittedly not very intuitive D&D 2 mechanics. The entire intro area of BG1 is a tutorial. Additionally, you start BG2 around level 10 instead of 1, and I found this to be a bit overwhelming to begin the game with.
Something that was difficult for me to wrap my head around when it originally came out was that you will die over and over again if you treat it like an ARPG. You will need to constantly be pausing, issuing orders, unpausing, repeat. I’ve played the remastered versions and they include programmable AI for your characters that is worth tweaking. Also remember you can manually set auto-pause conditions - they will come in handy.
Last, I’d echo what other people have suggested in that you should try to have at least a handful of ranged characters backing up your front line fighters. Mages are extremely underpowered at low levels so they can fill this role nicely while they build up spells as the game goes on. Clerics are indispensable powerhouses. Also, keep in mind that in the D&D 2 ruleset, you will receive an attack penalty for using a weapon you’re not trained in, so check what proficiencies each character has when you first get them.
Otherwise, experiment and have fun! There’s a very good reason why these classics have hung around for so long. They are still very good games to experience. Yell if you get stuck, I’ve been playing the Infinity Engine games for decades at this point, and I’m sure others here would be happy to chime in.
https://isthereanydeal.com/game/baldursgateenhancededition/info/
Thank you so much for giving me so much information!
I’ll definitely start with the first game. Maybe I’ll do a follow-up post or and edit to this one, when I finally get my hands on it.
I really appreciate the advice!
You’re welcome! I’m interested in what you think of them.
I’m having the same issue! My biggest problem is getting started and sitting down to immerse myself. I would like to have finished BG1 and 2 before 3 releases, but I doubt that’s going to be happening.
