Pimp my baldur gate *possible spoilers*

[Elrohir.]

So im starting a new round of baldurs gate 2 SoA & ToB and im looking for mods to install and the order of installation.

So far I have:

Official patch
G3 Fix pack
G3 Tweaks

Major mods:

Shadows over soubar
Ascension

Minor mods:

Tactics (Propably all, Ill just cheese the difficulty bar if its too tough : D)
Improved asylum
TOD v3.1 (Im not sure what this is cause I downloaded these a while ago. I think its some tower quest)
Turnabout
Unfinished business

Npc mods:
Solafeuim (I hear hes powerfull)
Saerileth (Does he care if I have evil companions. Sarevok / Viconia)
Longer road

Misc:
Ease of use
Item upgrade

Any comments on these mods and recommandation for other mods are very very welcome!

[fable]

TOD is Tower of Deception. Might want to consider the Banter Pack, which adds more party interactions, and Desecration of Souls. Looks good, though. Make sure you load G3 Tweak Pack last, as recommended in the readme.

[Revi]

SoS does not come recommended by me. Adds some fairly overpowered items (in my view), an npc 'sage' who's voiced as if he's about to fall asleep, and some other rather odd npcs (like a ranger with barely any con and a seriously annoying pet).

TOD (Tower of Deception) is great. It adds a straightforward but rewarding dungeon quest that feels very much like an excursion to a small Tales of the Swords Coast dungeon. Also rewards you with a decent weapon (one that isn't overpowered for a change).

Unfininished Business and Item Upgrade are also great mods. They add content that fits 100% in the original feel of the game.

Instead of Ease of Use, just install the G3 Baldur's Gate 2 Tweak pack. It already includes ease of use, and is still supported and updated, whereas Ease isn't.

Other mods you could consider:

Tortured Souls, Blackwyrm Lair (additional storyline involving Yoshimo and Valygar)
aVENGER's Rogue Rebalancing, Spellhold Studios ('fixes' rogues and bards to be more like p&p)
SimDing0's Quest Pack, Pocket Plane Group (additional quests)
Assasinations, Pocket Plane Group (additional rogue quests)


And as Fable said, the Banter Pack is also great

[Edar Macilrille]

I have have problems with G3 Tweakpack, it could not access my Dialouge files, so it installed in other places as well, took my ability to get HLAs...

[fable]

I've heard very good things about the Amber, Keto, and Angelo NPC mods, so if you're looking for any other party replacements, consider these. They're all well-tested. If you want power in a party NPC, as you seem to, take a look at Chloe. Over-the-top, but quite playable. You can check out each of these at the Pocket Plane Group.

I have have problems with G3 Tweakpack, it could not access my Dialouge files, so it installed in other places as well, took my ability to get HLAs...

Edar, you may want to check up on G3's board. I've found them very responsive to questions and problems about the mod, in the past. You did add it last in the loading order, right? And which version did you use?

[Edar Macilrille]

I added it last yes, and it was the latest version, DL it 2-3 weeks ago. It is either that or the G3 annerversary pack, and surprised me for the G3 mods are usually good and they have both worked before. I tried uninstalling it all and isntalled game again, DL all mods again reload etc... installed all mods again until I found the culprit.

Thanks. I am almost through SoA anyway, so next try will be on my Vista machine again whenever Vista gets to work properly, then I will anticipate an entire new set of trouble...

[fable]

Do you have the G3 mod executables in your BG2 main directory? That's essential with several of their mods. If you try to install them from other directories and point to the BG2 directory, you'll get errors.

[Edar Macilrille]

Yes I do, you need that with many mods.

Thanks for your helpfulness though.

[Elrohir.]

Thanks guys, I ended up dropping tactics, SOS and sola while getting the banter pack and using only saerileth as a custom NPC to get more banter between party members.

[galraen]

With the Saerileth mod be warned, there are a couple of very tough encounters involved and one of them is timed. At some point fairly soon after recuiting her you will be forced into going to a new area and facing a very tough enemy. The first time I used the mod I made the mistake of recruiting her immediately after escaping from Chateau Irenicus, as the readme sort of suggested. The result was I was forced into the encounter with level 9 characters and I didn't stand a chance, ended up having to revert to a save before picking her up, very annoying. Once you realise that however, it becomes, IMO, a very good mod.