levels, characters, items newbie questions

its me · Post by **its me** » Mon Feb 18, 2002 12:36 pm

Here we go. What level should my party of halfliing swashbuckler, minsc, Jaheria, Mazzy, Nalia and Aerie be before i give the money to shadow thieves? Also, some good items and such that are EASYISH TO GET would be nice. pc uses long or short swords. cheers.

hwttdz · Post by **hwttdz** » Mon Feb 18, 2002 1:24 pm

I would assume that you already did all of the circus quest with Aerie. If you did not finish the black dragon quest you might want to do that. That'll get you a nice halbred I think and a decent chain mail. I think Minsc can use the halbred no? Mazzy has her personal equipment which is ok I suppose. If you picked up sarevok's sword I like that for Minsc, if not the sewer/slaver quest in the copper coronet will get a +3 two handed sword for Minsc. Arbane's sword is not too bad and you already have it. You can pick up the daystar longsword in the city gates. You can buy the blade of roses in the copper coronet.

I would say
halfliing swashbuckler- blade of roses if you're rich, then daystar, then arbane's sword
Minsc- Lilarcor, sarevok's sword, halbred from shadow dragon
Jaheria- depends on proficiencies, perhaps sling of seeking and a belt, or blackblood(club +3 +acid from trademeet)
Mazzy-personal items
Nalia- arbane or tugian bow from slavers
Aerie-may want to put sling of seeking here

The problem with this is there is not too much +3 stuff, so often you will not be able to hit stuff. If you're lucky you'll have 3 +3 weapons. Good luck.

its me · Post by **its me** » Mon Feb 18, 2002 1:55 pm

Blade of roses- cha-ching. My stats go 17, 19, 18, 14, 14, 20. Not bad, eh? And wot is black dragon quest? and arbane sword? i take it daystar is with lich? he's not my type. thanks very much.

HighLordDave · Post by **HighLordDave** » Mon Feb 18, 2002 2:01 pm

Don't forget to take:

Bracers of Defense AC3
Bracers of Defense AC 4
Staff of Rynn +4
Celestial Fury +3
Tansheron's Bow +3
Mace of Disruption +2

If you have the bonus merchants, also get:

Joril's Dagger +3
Sling of Everard +5
Shield of Balduran
Plate of Balduran

You will also want to buy up all of the scroll cases and gem bags you can get your hands on.

hwttdz · Post by **hwttdz** » Mon Feb 18, 2002 4:08 pm

And wot is black dragon quest? the one given by the mayor of the umar hills to kill the black dragon and the shadow lord.

and arbane sword? the sword is gained from a random encounter in Althaka just walk between the different areas in the city untill some thugs attack you it's a really easy fight.

Pebz · Post by **Pebz** » Mon Feb 18, 2002 6:00 pm

Killing the Black Dragon is not a quest.

>Pinkit< · Post by **>Pinkit<** » Mon Feb 18, 2002 6:21 pm

I suggest Crom Faeyr..

HighLordDave · Post by **HighLordDave** » Mon Feb 18, 2002 6:34 pm

Originally posted by >Pinkit<
I suggest Crom Faeyr..

You can't take Crom Faeyr with you to Spellhold (unless you cheat); the last of the components is found after you get there.

samcu · Post by **samcu** » Mon Feb 18, 2002 7:48 pm

spoiler

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Most forged equipments' components had to be gathered and assembled after chapter 6.

Definitely, do the slaver quest. Celestial fury is a must for any party that want to dish out a world of hurt.

Sling of everard and shield of baldurian, don't leave home without it. With that shield, you can do the unseeing eye quest easily.

Try Korgan's quest for the spider figurine and the horn of vhallor in the bridge district.

For a extra cheesy game, get the vhailor helm, wand of cloudkill and wand of monster summoning. I remember spamming monsters out in BG1 to fight Sarevok and with 50-70 summonings, it was a scary sight to witness.

HighLordDave · Post by **HighLordDave** » Mon Feb 18, 2002 8:33 pm

Originally posted by samcu
I remember spamming monsters out in BG1 to fight Sarevok and with 50-70 summonings, it was a scary sight to witness.

(Un)Fortunately, they took out the velveeta for BG2 and you can only summon 5 creatures at a time to prevent players (such as you and myself) from summoning hordes of war dogs, hobgoblins and ogres to run interference while cutting down bad guys left and right with missile weapons and spells.

Obsidian · Post by **Obsidian** » Mon Feb 18, 2002 8:36 pm

Well, there are a couple of uber wpns that are just handed to you.
Arbanes Sword.
A short sword +2 that gives free action you get in a ridicoulously easy fight.
Tuigans bow +1.
has an extra attack per round, can REALLY put the hurt on.
Ring of Human Influence.
A must have for your spokesman
Blade of Roses
Not that expensive, does more damage than most longswords along with being a +3. 2d4 I think.
Daystar
you can pick that one up with a decent theif and a potion of invisibility. Find the door in the Crooked Crane (gate district) and then hide in shadows before the lich goes hostile, pick the lock. Pause, grab the sword from the box, knock back a potion of invis and run out b4 the lich starts casting. Tricky, but doable.
Lilacor
2 hander +3 with some useful mind protections. Just do the quest beneath the copper coronet, its pretty straightforward for a simple quest.

For armour, there are a few guys underneath the temple district that want to charge you cash. With a few well cast buff spells (draw on holy strength, remove fear) and some good group affecting spells (chaos, horror, etc) you can take them pretty easily. Summons work well. You'll get yourself at least 2 pairs of +1 Full plate and a good throwing axe and morning star.

As to when to cross the seas, about level 14 for your swashy should do it. Just see how easily you beat the first vampire battle. If you do it without to much trouble, get going.

Nagroth · Post by **Nagroth** » Tue Feb 19, 2002 1:27 am

Another cheesy way to get Daystar is to enter the lich´s lair, talk to him, wait for him to gate in a pitfiend and then to leave his lair. Rest in the tavern and come back. Once you enter the room, the summoned demon will disappear and the lich is almost helpless, even against a low level party.

You miss out on the xp for the demon, though !

frogus · Post by **frogus** » Tue Feb 19, 2002 10:59 am

Originally posted by its me
Blade of roses- cha-ching. My stats go 17, 19, 18, 14, 14, 20. Not bad, eh?

Is this the same Blade of Roses that I'm thinking of? The one on sale at a store in Athkatla somewhere (copper coronet?) which seemed like a waste of money? Is it a different one? Is it better than I thought? Do I wanna get it next time through the game (I just killed Irenicus and am not expecting another trip to the slums)

Ned Flanders · Post by **Ned Flanders** » Tue Feb 19, 2002 11:27 am

it's me,

If this is your first time through the game, I would stay away from this forum. The best part of BG2 is winging it. There really are no bad NPC's as long as your party has balance. Also, the game won't really make situations available to you that you cannot get through. Or, if they are too tough, you won't be stuck. That is, to say, there will be an exit and you can come back later.

This game is just too fun and the assistance this web site will provide might be a little too much and lessen the experience for you. Now, once you've finished the game, I'd recommend devouring this forum. You won't believe how much there is to learn and some of the tricks/strategies some players have come up with.

The party listed: swashbuckler, minsc, jaheira, mazzy, nalia, and aerie, is an excellent group. Great balance of class, some sturdy front liners, and Aerie (whom I consider to be the best NPC). You can give the money to the shadow thieves at any time. You'll wind up going through the game so many times you should experiment giving the money to the shadow thieves at different intervals. Giving the money to the shadow thieves fairly early provides quite a challenge but it is possible.

kopywrite · Post by **kopywrite** » Wed Feb 20, 2002 3:29 am

If you do the circus, slavers and sewer quest, you usually end up with enough cash to pay the thieves almost straight away. Not sure if that would be wise though...

kopywrite · Post by **kopywrite** » Wed Feb 20, 2002 3:32 am

Originally posted by frogus

Is this the same Blade of Roses that I'm thinking of? The one on sale at a store in Athkatla somewhere (copper coronet?) which seemed like a waste of money? Is it a different one? Is it better than I thought? Do I wanna get it next time through the game (I just killed Irenicus and am not expecting another trip to the slums)

the blade of roses is useful early in the game cos it gives +2 to charisma and is a very easy way of getting a +3 weapon early on

Nagroth · Post by **Nagroth** » Wed Feb 20, 2002 3:53 am

I guess it wouldn´t be wise to pay the Shadow Thieves as soon as possible because then the vampires start attacking you. I found that 2-3 vampires can be quite nasty, if you only have a low level party. So my advice is to pay when you´re ready for Spellhold.