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[goblin]

I've never played BG1, but I get the idea. I don't want it to throw items at me... if anything, I'd say that's exactly what it's doing. I just sold like 69 weapons to the blacksmith at like 5-10 CP a piece. I just mindlessly add this stuff to my stash without even looking at it :\

Sure. Copper's pretty valuable in the early game, so I think everyone does some initial stash hoarding. I was speaking more toward named or special items being rarer.

 

[Annubis]

The +2 to mechanics means that rogues will always be the best lockpickers, anyways; the skill point investment needed to reach higher ranks is lessened by quite a lot due to it. As long as there are very-high-level locks to be picked, I like what they've set up so far. Like a barbarian can specialize in mechanics, but he's going to be down a dozen or more points to get to the same place that a rogue does.

Even more so if you pick a background for another +1.

You go from: 1+2+3+4+5+6+7+8+9+10 (55)
to 1+2+3+4+5+6+7 (28)

Although, apparently there are +2 mechanics glove in the game (haven't found them yet myself) so that would be 36 vs 15 and if you want to include inn bonus 28 vs 10.

 

[Kinthalis]

I want PoE2 with dual/multiclassing. Monk/Cipher would be OP as fuck.

Nooooo!

I prefer they went with new classes that blend others in unique ways. Something like prestige classes in D&D.

It's easier to balance that situation than allowing multi-classing, and IMHO, allows the devs to add more "lore flavor" into the world.

Instead of fighter/mage whigh will probably have all sorts of stupid limiting rules in order to balance, you end up with say a "SpellSword" with unique abilities that bled fihter and mage nicely, and is rooted in the world's mythos better.

 

[Anjelus_]

I do miss high level wizard battles from Baldur's Gate 2 though. I'm about 40 hours into Eternity and haven't had that yet. I really haven't fought all that many powerful wizards at all, actually. Maybe that's still coming and I'll retract this statement if I do.

BG2 was an amazing light show at high levels. Just crazy back and forth spell flinging and insanity. There's some of that in Eternity, but nothing to that level just yet.

 

[lordfuzzybutt]

Raedric keep is crashing left and right for me. Most of the loading screens when changing zones will end up with a black screen.

Well off to wait for patch.

 

[Pewpewlazors99]

Yeah, I mean, the eternal BG1/BG2 question is kinda tough.

BG1 is all about very low-level D&D combat, which can be pretty hard to get into. Expect to miss 90% of the time or more. It's also considerably more directionless/open, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but does make the game even harder to get into. Lastly, BG1's story is very minimal. It barely has a story for 10-20 hours, honestly.

BG2, on the other hand, is basically a God-tier RPG in virtually every way. Incredible writing, high-level combat means your party and everyone you face off against can be extremely deadly. Maybe the greatest RPG city of all time. A truly ridiculous amount of content.

I suspect that a lot of people tried to catch up on CRPGs with BG1 and ended up abandoning it. It can be rough, even with mods. But even so, it's hard to recommend jumping straight into BG2, since it's a direct sequel.

I say try BG1, and if you can't get through it, drop it shame-free, read the story spoilers, then jump straight into BG2. You're almost guaranteed to have a better time there.

Get the Enhanced Editions, or get the games off GOG and mod them. I'm an idiot when it comes to PC gaming and modding, and I played BG1 and 2 from GOG with mods no problem. There are pinned guides on the GOG BG forum that make it fail-proof.

Edit: If you do play BG1, follow this guide. Don't listen to anyone else - this is 1000% the best one: http://www.forgottenwars.com/bg1/. It's what finally allowed me to get through BG1 after 4-5 attempts. It's story spoiler-free, it includes complete maps, and it's comprehensive. It'll tell you to loot every dresser, etc., but any part of the checklist you want to skip you can skip.

So I've never played BG1 or BG2, and after reading everything I think I'm going to grab the Enhanced BG2 and skip BG1.

Is there anything I'm truly missing from BG1, story wise or experience wise? Anything story wise that I need to know for BG2 to make sense? I want to experience everything, but don't have the time.

Also, was Neverwinter nights any good? I remember getting it as a kid but never playing it.

 

[Snapshot King]

Even more so if you pick a background for another +1.

You go from: 1+2+3+4+5+6+7+8+9+10 (55)
to 1+2+3+4+5+6+7 (28)

Although, apparently there are +2 mechanics glove in the game (haven't found them yet myself) so that would be 36 vs 15 and if you want to include inn bonus 28 vs 10.

This reasoning is exactly why I went with a Wizard-Laborer.

 

[UncleSporky]

Yeah, I know. You can write anything to explain why a warrior is also capable of casting fireballs from the heavens. Like I said, this is a debate that has raged for as long as RPGs have existed, so it's not going to be put to rest here. I prefer one way, I accept that others prefer another way. PoE mostly caters my my tastes.

The debate over whether characters should be able to multiclass/be anything vs. having to follow their specialized chosen class path, that's fine. I've played and enjoyed both types of games.

I take issue with you calling that a matter of roleplaying. It absolutely is not. That's making up a new definition of roleplaying that's all your own. That's not something that has ever seriously been debated.

Roleplaying is about being able to make choices like "should I save this kid or kill him," not whether you can choose to lockpick as any class.

 

[hobblygobbly]

Dibs on Durance's portrait, such an awesome character.

 

[Prototype Viktor]

For... gold?

But why? Money is so abundant.

I wasn't getting any money and was getting made about it, went through the first 5 areas and only had like 700 and it was making the game unbearable

 

[Kinthalis]

I'm getting tired of seeing articles from gaming websites about Pillars "mega-bug" or whatever the particular site decides to call it.

I know there's a couple of frustrating bugs out there right now, but it's looking like it'll be patched soon and we'll all be happy again in a week. No reason for websites to overblow Pillars bug problems so we can all hear more mindless "Obsidian fucked up again hurrrrr" from everyone.

I mean, they just made probably one of the greatest RPGS of the last few years and we all can't get over a few early bugs? I'm just tired of them getting beaten down with this stereotype considering that, ya know, Skyrim on PS3 and the Halo MCC were actual games, that actually got released, and stayed in the state they were in for MONTHS.

Yep. It's sad. Barely any coverage of what is the most abitious and imersive RPG's in a LONG time, except to mention some bugs.

Meantime every other post on most gaming sites is about Bloodborne. Great game, I'm sure, but to be talking about it while completely excluding Pillars from the conversation is a disservice to RPG gamers.

 

[Dresden]

I wasn't getting any money and was getting made about it, went through the first 5 areas and only had like 700 and it was making the game unbearable

You can walk out of the tutorial with 3k gold. Either way it just kinda accumulates as you adventure, and there's nothing to buy early on.

 

[Anjelus_]

So I've never played BG1 or BG2, and after reading everything I think I'm going to grab the Enhanced BG2 and skip BG1.

Is there anything I'm truly missing from BG1, story wise or experience wise? Anything story wise that I need to know for BG2 to make sense? I want to experience everything, but don't have the time.

Also, was Neverwinter nights any good? I remember getting it as a kid but never playing it.

I played BG2 before I played BG1. It's a little confusing at first, but you can honestly pick up on every story beat you need to know as you go along in the game. There's nothing earth shatteringly complicated that happens in BG1 and none (repeat: none) of the characters are fleshed out enough in BG1 to make a difference for BG2.

 

[WanderingWind]

The debate over whether characters should be able to multiclass/be anything vs. having to follow their specialized chosen class path, that's fine. I've played and enjoyed both types of games.

I take issue with you calling that a matter of roleplaying. It absolutely is not. That's making up a new definition of roleplaying that's all your own. That's not something that has ever seriously been debated.

Roleplaying is about being able to make choices like "should I save this kid or kill him," not whether you can choose to lockpick as any class.

Ok, well, I dunno man. Take issue with it if you must, I guess.

 

[Alavard]

So I've never played BG1 or BG2, and after reading everything I think I'm going to grab the Enhanced BG2 and skip BG1.

Is there anything I'm truly missing from BG1, story wise or experience wise? Anything story wise that I need to know for BG2 to make sense? I want to experience everything, but don't have the time.

Also, was Neverwinter nights any good? I remember getting it as a kid but never playing it.

Story-wise, the opening narration to BG2 sums up the main points of BG1 very quickly. Game-wise, there are a very few things you can carry over from the first game, but they're pretty minor

- You can carry over your main PC from BG1. This could start you off a level or two higher than you would at the beginning of BG2 normally.

- You can carry over one of a very very few pieces of equipment, and if you haven't imported you get one of them from that list anyway. basically, there is a quest in the tutorial BG 2 dungeon, and it rewards you with something you 'lost'.

- You can carry over a joke item that when combined with a joke item from BG2 proper and a joke item from the BG2 expansion can give you some jokey uber equipment.

 

[Haly]

You can walk out of the tutorial with 3k gold. Either way it just kinda accumulates as you adventure, and there's nothing to buy early on.

Woah how did you do this? The most I've left the tutorial zone with is like 1k.

Did you just kill all the caravaners??

 

[Kinthalis]

Dibs on Durance's portrait, such an awesome character.

Dat eye.

 

[Prototype Viktor]

You can walk out of the tutorial with 3k gold. Either way it just kinda accumulates as you adventure, and there's nothing to buy early on.

Well the early game was making me hate it and I've just been hate playing it the entire time then I'm going to give up and go back to divinity

 

[Durante]

Whoa,

Spoiler

Searing Falls

is a very nice looking area. Also,

Spoiler

Drakes

! Not quite Dragons yet, but getting there.

 

[UncleSporky]

For... gold?

But why? Money is so abundant.

Midway through act 2, personally I don't feel like there is enough. I want to enchant my gear, and buy new spells out of grimoires for Aloth, and also pay for the stronghold, and I'm just hovering around 3000 at all times.

I mean, not enough for everything I want to do. I think it's actually balanced pretty well to keep me on my toes like this.

 

[Melhisedek]

Which class is easier for a newbie RPG-er? I have narrowed it to these 2

Druid or Cipher? I just want to enjoy the story and not worry about the combat so much as I have a tendency to screw my builds up

 

[Haly]

I would say Cipher is harder to screw up because their resource system is closer to the mana bars most people are used to instead of the Vancian "one shot per rest" system of old.

Having only touched the first two tiers of skills, I'd say the clear winners are:

1st Level:
Mind Wave

2nd Level:
Mental Binding

 

[Dresden]

Woah how did you do this? The most I've left the tutorial zone with is like 1k.

Did you just kill all the caravaners??

Nah, just sell the junk you have and acquire there to Heodan before triggering the attack. Gaun's Pledge and the unique pistol you loot there are like 2.5k total, and there's the potion in the locked box that goes for like 250, and some armor and stuff. He pays full price for everything, a terrible trader.

 

[Burt]

Midway through act 2, personally I don't feel like there is enough. I want to enchant my gear, and buy new spells out of grimoires for Aloth, and also pay for the stronghold, and I'm just hovering around 3000k at all times.

I mean, not enough for everything I want to do. I think it's actually balanced pretty well to keep me on my toes like this.

You're right on the cusp of when gold starts to spiral upwards. Once all enemies start carrying 'fine' items at a minimum, you're pretty much free to spend all the gold you want.

Also you get to a part where you literally get dozens of xaurip spears and shields to vendor. While not worth much each, selling off like 50 of them adds up.

Heh... "a" part. I'd get that clicker finger warmed up and stretched out if I were you.

 

[Anoregon]

Also you get to a part where you literally get dozens of xaurip spears and shields to vendor. While not worth much each, selling off like 50 of them adds up.

 

[Shake Appeal]

Nah, just sell the junk you have and acquire there to Heodan before triggering the attack. Gaun's Pledge and the unique pistol you loot there are like 2.5k total, and there's the potion in the locked box that goes for like 250, and some armor and stuff. He pays full price for everything, a terrible trader.

I refuse to sell Gaun's Pledge because I don't want preorder loot to taint my progress. It's been sitting in my stash since minute one.

-_-

 

[WanderingWind]

I refuse to sell Gaun's Pledge because I don't want preorder loot to taint my progress. It's been sitting in my stash since minute one.

-_-

Stay strong, brother.

 

[Shake Appeal]

Having only touched the first two tiers of skills, I'd say the clear winners are:

1st Level:
Mind Wave

2nd Level:
Mental Binding

Eyestrike casts Fast (I think), has a range of 10m, and causes Blinding (which is awesome) and Dazed for a long time. And it has AoE. And you can fire it before combat begins.

 

[Zornack]

Oh, hey, I just noticed while stripping my characters in order to do that stat fix that there's a pet slot on my main dude. Now I got this dog following me around. Sweet!

 

[Pancakes]

I refuse to sell Gaun's Pledge because I don't want preorder loot to taint my progress. It's been sitting in my stash since minute one.

-_-

I...may have used it to save my ass in the earlier dungeons >_>.

 

[Haly]

Nah, just sell the junk you have and acquire there to Heodan before triggering the attack. Gaun's Pledge and the unique pistol you loot there are like 2.5k total, and there's the potion in the locked box that goes for like 250, and some armor and stuff. He pays full price for everything, a terrible trader.

Truly

Spoiler

his death was well deserved.

Eyestrike casts Fast (I think), has a range of 10m, and causes Blinding (which is awesome) and Dazed for a long time. And it has AoE. And you can fire it before combat begins.

Yeah I haven't tried Eyestrike yet. I figure Cipher skills fall into two categories:

1) Fast CC
2) Damage

 

[Brojito]

Yep. It's sad. Barely any coverage of what is the most abitious and imersive RPG's in a LONG time, except to mention some bugs.

Meantime every other post on most gaming sites is about Bloodborne. Great game, I'm sure, but to be talking about it while completely excluding Pillars from the conversation is a disservice to RPG gamers.

I'm sure it's a great game too, but we don't need 500 articles about how fast someone just beat Dark Souls: The Victorian Edition using a rock band drum set.

It's just gaming media jumping on low-hanging fruit. "Obsidian's game is buggy" is an easier article to write than actually fostering discussion about Pillars or celebrating its accomplishments.

 

[Rad-]

Midway through act 2, personally I don't feel like there is enough. I want to enchant my gear, and buy new spells out of grimoires for Aloth, and also pay for the stronghold, and I'm just hovering around 3000k at all times.

I mean, not enough for everything I want to do. I think it's actually balanced pretty well to keep me on my toes like this.

Good loot place if you need money:

Spoiler

Dyrford Crossing ruins, gives around 13-14k worth of stuff

.

 

[Count of Monte Sawed-Off]

So I've never played BG1 or BG2, and after reading everything I think I'm going to grab the Enhanced BG2 and skip BG1.

Is there anything I'm truly missing from BG1, story wise or experience wise? Anything story wise that I need to know for BG2 to make sense? I want to experience everything, but don't have the time.

Also, was Neverwinter nights any good? I remember getting it as a kid but never playing it.

Skipping BG1 is fine I guess. I think you'll get a bit more out of BG2 if you play the original. Of course it's just a small bit and may not be worth it to you. I like starting a character from level 1 and taking him through the games, but it is a pretty big time commitment.

Neverwinter Nights, at least the official Bioware campaign, is terrible.

 

[Anno]

Edér is my new Garrus Vakarian. Not overly complex, but possessing of an understated wisdom. Also definitely the person I want with me when Reapers/dragons /phantoms attack.

 

[Durante]

Is it just me, or are priest buffs getting really OP in this game in the mid levels (I just reached level 7)? I'm feeling almost IWD levels of buff stacking.

Skipping BG1 is fine I guess. I think you'll get a bit more out of BG2 if you play the original. Of course it's just a small bit and may not be worth it to you. I like starting a character from level 1 and taking him through the games, but it is a pretty big time commitment.

Neverwinter Nights, at least the official Bioware campaign, is terrible.

Terrible is putting it nicely.

 

[aravuus]

Neverwinter Nights, at least the official Bioware campaign, is terrible.

Didn't Mask of the Betrayer get some pretty high praise, though? I'd love to give it a try, but I assume I gotta go through the original campaigns, and I've only heard some pretty bad stuff about them.

Also, side note, noticed you can up BG's framerate, effectively making it run 1.5x as fast. Thank god, makes it a bit nicer to play.

 

[Burt]

Is it just me, or are priest buffs getting really OP in this game in the mid levels (I just reached level 7)? I'm feeling almost IWD levels of buff stacking.

Terrible is putting it nicely.

Yeah, I'm looking at two priests for my next run, one as a caster and one as a melee off-tank. Twice the spell count, half the time to get buffs and debuffs out, and the ability to revive a dead priest without bringing a crappy paladin along. I'll finally get to use that +2 to all stats x0.25 healing priest talent.

 

[goblin]

I do miss high level wizard battles from Baldur's Gate 2 though. I'm about 40 hours into Eternity and haven't had that yet. I really haven't fought all that many powerful wizards at all, actually. Maybe that's still coming and I'll retract this statement if I do.

BG2 was an amazing light show at high levels. Just crazy back and forth spell flinging and insanity. There's some of that in Eternity, but nothing to that level just yet.

Although there are some Wizard anti-magic spells, nothing in Pillars of Eternity gets up to the level of BG2 magic combat. Some classes have ways of suspending beneficial spell effects, but there aren't really any straight dispels or breaches and there's no magic resistance stat to speak of. I understand why there's no pre-buffing in Eternity, but it also means that many enemy Wizards can be blown up easily if you can disable them early in the fight with something that targets their Fortitude or Reflex.

High-level Wizard duels, meta-magic abilities, and some more spells that manipulate other spells or grimoires is something I'm really hopeful for in a sequel or expansion. Wizard grimoires go up to nine but you only ever get up to

Spoiler

level six

in the game. I doubt that Obsidian will let Wizards get as powerful as they felt in BG2 and ToB, but I'd love to see some form of things like Spell Sequencer, Contingency, Simulacrum, Wish, or Time Stop eventually.

 

[Durante]

Didn't Mask of the Betrayer get some pretty high praise, though? I'd love to give it a try, but I assume I gotta go through the original campaigns, and I've only heard some pretty bad stuff about them.

Also, side note, noticed you can up BG's framerate, effectively making it run 1.5x as fast. Thank god, makes it a bit nicer to play.

Well, Mask of the Betrayer is very good. Like, probably the best RTwP RPG between BG2 and PoE.

But what he was talking about is the NWN 1 OC, which is probably Bioware's worst product. And that means a lot. Even the NWN 2 OC, which is kind of dull, is a massive improvement over that trainwreck.

Although there are some Wizard anti-magic spells, nothing in Pillars of Eternity gets up to the level of BG2 magic combat. Some classes have ways of suspending beneficial spell effects, but there aren't really any straight dispels or breaches and there's no magic resistance stat to speak of. I understand why there's no pre-buffing in Eternity, but it also means that many enemy Wizards can be blown up easily if you can disable them early in the fight with something that targets their Fortitude or Reflex.

High-level Wizard duels, meta-magic abilities, and some more spells that manipulate other spells or grimoires is something I'm really hopeful for in a sequel or expansion. Wizard grimoires go up to nine but you only ever get up to

Spoiler

level six

in the game. I doubt that Obsidian will let Wizards get as powerful as they felt in BG2 and ToB, but I'd love to see some form of things like Spell Sequencer, Contingency, Simulacrum, Wish, or Time Stop eventually.

Completely agreed. Also on the power level thing -- in ToB you are basically a god.

 

[Count of Monte Sawed-Off]

Didn't Mask of the Betrayer get some pretty high praise, though? I'd love to give it a try, but I assume I gotta go through the original campaigns, and I've only heard some pretty bad stuff about them.

Also, side note, noticed you can up BG's framerate, effectively making it run 1.5x as fast. Thank god, makes it a bit nicer to play.

Mask of the Betrayer is part of NWN2, I still haven't played that yet, but a lot of people do really seem to like it. I played a bit of the NWN2 official Obsidian campaign, and from what little I played it was a lot better than what Bioware did with the original game, but that's not saying much.

 

[UncleSporky]

Nobody's talking about the Icewind Dales!

How do people like the Icewind Dales.

I mean we don't need to talk about Planescape, that one's a given.

 

[Pewpewlazors99]

Skipping BG1 is fine I guess. I think you'll get a bit more out of BG2 if you play the original. Of course it's just a small bit and may not be worth it to you. I like starting a character from level 1 and taking him through the games, but it is a pretty big time commitment.

Neverwinter Nights, at least the official Bioware campaign, is terrible.

Thanks, looks like I'll be getting both because before I read this I was thinking about how I didn't really want to skip levels. Being a total noob, whats the best way for me to purchase these two games? Can I grab them and on steam and Mod them? Or should I just get them on GoG?

Having never played a CRPG then realizing I have so much to catch up on is a pretty awesome feeling seeing how much I am enjoying PoE.

 

[Count of Monte Sawed-Off]

Nobody's talking about the Icewind Dales!

How do people like the Icewind Dales.

I mean we don't need to talk about Planescape, that one's a given.

Icewind Dale 1 is really good for what it is. I don't like it as much as the BG games, but it's still good fun.

I'm still trying to play IWD2. I'm not really good and/or familiar with 3rd edition rules.

 

[embalm]

So I've never played BG1 or BG2, and after reading everything I think I'm going to grab the Enhanced BG2 and skip BG1.

Is there anything I'm truly missing from BG1, story wise or experience wise? Anything story wise that I need to know for BG2 to make sense? I want to experience everything, but don't have the time.

Also, was Neverwinter nights any good? I remember getting it as a kid but never playing it.

I totally understand skipping BG1, it hasn't aged as well as it's sequel has.

Story wise, I actually enjoy BG1 more. It's more subtle, it's about discovering the truth behind an age old question "Why Me?", and for most of the game the enemies are grounded in reality and make intelligent political moves to further their agenda, which you slowly discover through the adventure. It's absolutely great.

As a young teenager when the game came out, it's depth of story and political intrigue were an absolute first for me in any video game and it's one of the only games I've ever replayed multiple times.

 

[Salsa]

finally found Durance's use

use that put on bubble spell whenever someone's low on health. save up on camp equipment

 

[Pewpewlazors99]

I totally understand skipping BG1, it hasn't aged as well as it's sequel has.

Story wise, I actually enjoy BG1 more. It's more subtle, it's about discovering the truth behind an age old question "Why Me?", and for most of the game the enemies are grounded in reality and make intelligent political moves to further their agenda, which you slowly discover through the adventure. It's absolutely great.

As a young teenager when the game came out, it's depth of story and political intrigue were an absolute first for me in any video game and it's one of the only games I've ever replayed multiple times.

I'm a rogue guy, is it possible to beat the game with a rogue? I've read a guide someone posted and it made it seem like you have to make a certain kind of character in order to get through the game at all.

 

[Durante]

I totally understand skipping BG1, it hasn't aged as well as it's sequel has.

Story wise, I actually enjoy BG1 more. It's more subtle, it's about discovering the truth behind an age old question "Why Me?", and for most of the game the enemies are grounded in reality and make intelligent political moves to further their agenda, which you slowly discover through the adventure. It's absolutely great.

As a young teenager when the game came out, it's depth of story and political intrigue were an absolute first for me in any video game and it's one of the only games I've ever replayed multiple times.

Yeah, I feel the same about BG1. And I replayed it somewhat recently, so it's not just nostalgia. A low-level setting has its charm.

 

[Vistrix]

So is there any sort of graphical tweaks guide out there yet? Does Gedosato work with the game in any way?

Haven't come across one yet...

 

[Anoregon]

I'm a rogue guy, is it possible to beat the game with a rogue? I've read a guide someone posted and it made it seem like you have to make a certain kind of character in order to get through the game at all.

I can only see it mattering if you are trying to go it alone. It's a 6-member party game, so whatever you make your main character won't really matter.