Hey this is actually my first time playing so I'm kinda overwhelmed by everything. My main goal is to rescue Imoen ASAP, but I don't want to rush too quickly and be super gimped for the rest of the game. The advice I've gotten is to do all the quests relevant to forming the party you want. Right now I feel like I have a decent party, but I haven't really done many quests to get them.
Right now I'm using, Minsc, Jaheira, Yoshimo, Aerie, and Nalia, and I'm playing a Cavalier. So I've really only done like 2 quests since leaving the initial dungeon and I don't really feel like I'm ready to chase after Imoen (I actually have barely enough money so I wouldn't be able to buy much gear either). But at the same time it's not really clear to me what I should be doing next. Maybe I need to drastically reform my party and thus be required to do a few more quests? I'm just not sure.
Best Party Composition?
Welcome to the forums!
What's nice about Baldur's Gate 2 is how well-balanced and open everything generally is. I promise, there's no ideal party composition. My advice is, choose the characters you find the most interesting, who fit your party roleplaying-wise, and who offer skills that you need. Very few NPC's are provably worse than others, and it's all really a matter of preference.
For that matter, while most NPC's *do* have unique quests, they are, by and large, quite minor and absolutely not something to worry about missing.
As for what you should be doing now, the best advice I can give you is explore! If you find a quest, do it. If you're stuck on what to do, here're a few (spoiler-free!) pointers:
-Have you done the quests for the Windspear Hills, Umar Hills, and Tradesmeet? They're all fairly long quest chains, and, once you've done all three (and a smattering of the quests around Athkatla) you really should be fine for progressing the story.
-Even after you shell out the 20k, you do in fact stay in Athkatla for Chapter 3, and the moment where you go after Imoen and leave the city behind is very obvious (i.e., you can always delay it.) So don't feel like the game will pull a fast one on you.
-Your party definitely doesn't need a drastic reformation. If I were you, I might prefer subbing Nalia out for more ofa fighter, but that's 100% personal preference.
Hope this helps out, and hope you're enjoying what really is a fantastic RPG!
What's nice about Baldur's Gate 2 is how well-balanced and open everything generally is. I promise, there's no ideal party composition. My advice is, choose the characters you find the most interesting, who fit your party roleplaying-wise, and who offer skills that you need. Very few NPC's are provably worse than others, and it's all really a matter of preference.
For that matter, while most NPC's *do* have unique quests, they are, by and large, quite minor and absolutely not something to worry about missing.
As for what you should be doing now, the best advice I can give you is explore! If you find a quest, do it. If you're stuck on what to do, here're a few (spoiler-free!) pointers:
-Have you done the quests for the Windspear Hills, Umar Hills, and Tradesmeet? They're all fairly long quest chains, and, once you've done all three (and a smattering of the quests around Athkatla) you really should be fine for progressing the story.
-Even after you shell out the 20k, you do in fact stay in Athkatla for Chapter 3, and the moment where you go after Imoen and leave the city behind is very obvious (i.e., you can always delay it.) So don't feel like the game will pull a fast one on you.
-Your party definitely doesn't need a drastic reformation. If I were you, I might prefer subbing Nalia out for more ofa fighter, but that's 100% personal preference.
Hope this helps out, and hope you're enjoying what really is a fantastic RPG!
[QUOTE=MaxfireXSA;1088826]No I did not perform an orgy, and yes I need tips on how to do this.[/QUOTE]
The party you have will kick butt all the way to the end of the game. Make sure you have plenty of thief boosting items, such as the mercy killer ring, ring of lockpicks and ring of danger sense before heading to Brynlaw.
Do whatever quests you fancy before paying out the 15K (you'd be crazy to pay 20K) and doing the rest of Aran's quests but I'd suggest leaving Windspear until after rescuing Imoen, it's the toughest of the side quests and there's nothing of benefit to you in doing it right now.
Quests you will have to complete first, if you haven't already done them are clear out D'Arnisse Keep, the Playhouse/Aerie related quest and Jaheira's quest. The latter can be long winded if you're following the Jaheira romance.
Do whatever quests you fancy before paying out the 15K (you'd be crazy to pay 20K) and doing the rest of Aran's quests but I'd suggest leaving Windspear until after rescuing Imoen, it's the toughest of the side quests and there's nothing of benefit to you in doing it right now.
Quests you will have to complete first, if you haven't already done them are clear out D'Arnisse Keep, the Playhouse/Aerie related quest and Jaheira's quest. The latter can be long winded if you're following the Jaheira romance.
[QUOTE=Darth Gavinius;1096098]Distrbution of games, is becoming a little like Democracy (all about money and control) - in the end choice is an illusion and you have to choose your lesser evil.
And everything is hidden in the fine print.[/QUOTE]
And everything is hidden in the fine print.[/QUOTE]
I'd suggest leaving Windspear until after rescuing Imoen, it's the toughest of the side quests and there's nothing of benefit to you in doing it right now
He's playing a cavalier
. Sure, it'd be a hard fight, but winning it pre-Imoen is totally doable. You can say Windspear isn't a great idea, but don't tell me there's nothing he can gain from that quest. For him, I'd say it's easy the most important side-quest in the game.[QUOTE=MaxfireXSA;1088826]No I did not perform an orgy, and yes I need tips on how to do this.[/QUOTE]
Woops, missed the Cavalier bit! Duh. Garriath's right, ignore what I said about leaving the Windspear hills. Only excuse is that I was advising someone about throwing spears at the same time, so got confused, yeah right, just a feeble excuse for not reading the original post properly!
[QUOTE=Darth Gavinius;1096098]Distrbution of games, is becoming a little like Democracy (all about money and control) - in the end choice is an illusion and you have to choose your lesser evil.
And everything is hidden in the fine print.[/QUOTE]
And everything is hidden in the fine print.[/QUOTE]
Hey you guys, thanks for all the replies!
I haven't done a whole lot actually. I just did the circus quest to get Aerie and then I did de'Arnise keep and got a ton of money / weapons. I changed my party up a little bit... I agree that it felt like we needed someone else in front. So now I have Minsc, Jaheira, Anomen, Jan and Aerie. I kinda miss Yoshimo, but this party looks really solid. And I think Imoen will eventually pop out Jan or Aerie depending on where we're at.
So I'm sitting on the 15k right now, is there anything else I need to do before giving the guy the money? My PC has -4 armor class with ~125 health, and Minsc, Anomen and Jaheira are all at -1 / -2 with ~70-90 health. The 2 mages are still really squishy, but I don't see them get hit that much. I could buy a few items and try to re-earn the money, but I'm eager to go after Imoen since we're already passing a week since she was taken. Is there anything I should definitely get out of the way beforehand?
I haven't done a whole lot actually. I just did the circus quest to get Aerie and then I did de'Arnise keep and got a ton of money / weapons. I changed my party up a little bit... I agree that it felt like we needed someone else in front. So now I have Minsc, Jaheira, Anomen, Jan and Aerie. I kinda miss Yoshimo, but this party looks really solid. And I think Imoen will eventually pop out Jan or Aerie depending on where we're at.
So I'm sitting on the 15k right now, is there anything else I need to do before giving the guy the money? My PC has -4 armor class with ~125 health, and Minsc, Anomen and Jaheira are all at -1 / -2 with ~70-90 health. The 2 mages are still really squishy, but I don't see them get hit that much. I could buy a few items and try to re-earn the money, but I'm eager to go after Imoen since we're already passing a week since she was taken. Is there anything I should definitely get out of the way beforehand?
While it's entirely your choice, I would definitely want to do a few more quests before heading after Imoen. Otherwise the next few chapters will be very difficult (though, of course, the experience rewards will make your XP shoot through the roof, so it's a trade-off.) My advice would be to go to the Umar Hills, and go through that quest line. Then (more importantly) visit Windspear Hills, play through the quest, and (this is spoiler-free) choose to fight the very obvious final boss. It'll probably take multiple tries, but you get the best item in the game, which will be especially useful for you.
The remaining Athkatla quests will still be around when you get back, but I'd really recommend at least going through Windspear before going after Imoen. You'll be no good to her if you can't beat the enemies blocking you from her.
The remaining Athkatla quests will still be around when you get back, but I'd really recommend at least going through Windspear before going after Imoen. You'll be no good to her if you can't beat the enemies blocking you from her.
[QUOTE=MaxfireXSA;1088826]No I did not perform an orgy, and yes I need tips on how to do this.[/QUOTE]
Furthermore, after you rescue Imoen, You'll be too powerful to enjoy many of the quests.
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You can always return there later if you feel like it would make more sense. He even tells you that.
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magisensei1
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H, hope you are enjoying your stay in BG2
My two cents for when to go after Imoen is really a personal choice like everyone has said but you should be I think a bit more powerful than level 9 before going. How many of the side quests you do is really up to you and how you play but having good items in order to live longer (no continual reloads) is very important to enjoying the game a bit more but not essential and all depends on how you play but can be helpful. As for party composition as everyone has said go with who you enjoy the most - add and subtract NPCs to compose your party and do quests as you like - as most NPCs will rejoin you even after you decide to reform the party later.
Taking on a dragon at level 9 is rather risky but honestly its been a while since I have played and I don't remember if there is a great time to do dragon-slaying - my policy avoid if possible since my characters usually are not crazed and want to do dragon-slaying, an occupation for those who are in good standing with their gods or touched with a bit of madness. *grins*
Without giving spoilers away - there are a lot of interesting things through out the cities including a couple of unique places (not quests) that are a bit different than normal so if you can find them and survive them (they are a good test of how strong your characters are at the moment - why do them you ask? well these places have unique one of a kind items you can't find anywhere else - they are very useful but are not essential but very helpful to have for your party) then you know you can attempt dragon-slaying, go after Imoen with only a little bit of fear, and face mighty beings with only a shiver and maybe only a shaky battle cry rather than running away screaming.
Have fun
My two cents for when to go after Imoen is really a personal choice like everyone has said but you should be I think a bit more powerful than level 9 before going. How many of the side quests you do is really up to you and how you play but having good items in order to live longer (no continual reloads) is very important to enjoying the game a bit more but not essential and all depends on how you play but can be helpful. As for party composition as everyone has said go with who you enjoy the most - add and subtract NPCs to compose your party and do quests as you like - as most NPCs will rejoin you even after you decide to reform the party later.
Taking on a dragon at level 9 is rather risky but honestly its been a while since I have played and I don't remember if there is a great time to do dragon-slaying - my policy avoid if possible since my characters usually are not crazed and want to do dragon-slaying, an occupation for those who are in good standing with their gods or touched with a bit of madness. *grins*
Without giving spoilers away - there are a lot of interesting things through out the cities including a couple of unique places (not quests) that are a bit different than normal so if you can find them and survive them (they are a good test of how strong your characters are at the moment - why do them you ask? well these places have unique one of a kind items you can't find anywhere else - they are very useful but are not essential but very helpful to have for your party) then you know you can attempt dragon-slaying, go after Imoen with only a little bit of fear, and face mighty beings with only a shiver and maybe only a shaky battle cry rather than running away screaming.
Have fun