How to go about Making a first character

Northern Lights · Post by **Northern Lights** » Fri May 07, 2004 6:56 pm

Hi, everybody I bought Baldur’s gate 2 the collection series. Besides the tutorial” I never played the game before and wanted to make the first character a perfect one. The game did not come with any instructions so I am not sure what points to add to my Human Barbarian. Would anybody give me some suggestions on what type of points to apply to the human Barb such as STR dex and so on? What race and class would be best for a first time player, what type of weapon points should I apply a human barb, bastard sword, short sword, other? Any tips and information will be appreciated.

Kaitsuburi · Post by **Kaitsuburi** » Fri May 07, 2004 7:57 pm

A fighter is a good choice for starters. I would go with Berserker over Barbarian, though, personally. Full plate armor makes a huge difference

Other than that, I can only envy you for the "virgin" experience of playing BG2 for the first time...

-kaitsuburi

Northern Lights · Post by **Northern Lights** » Fri May 07, 2004 9:47 pm

Cool
A Berserker it shall be.
When making the character it gives an option to add DEX STR, and so on which ones do Berserkers Use STR DEX CHA? And how many points should I put into each category. I do not want to waste all my points in CHA if Berserkers don’t use it.
In addition, what kind of weapons should I specialize in / add points to? Any info will be appreciated I’m really looking forward to playing this game, I just don’t want to do something stupid like put CHA points into a char that don’t use them or waste all the specialization points on the wrong weapon.

Raumoheru · Post by **Raumoheru** » Fri May 07, 2004 9:52 pm

for a berserker:

18 strength
at least 15 dex
highest possible con
around 12 int wis and cha

Thrain · Post by **Thrain** » Sat May 08, 2004 3:48 am

dwarf or half orc.

both get a con bonus (can get 19 con) and halforcs get a str bonus as well (19 str) but they take hits in char and int, which as a fighter you don't need.

if you're a dwarf, 3* in two weapon fighting, 3* in axes. next point in axes also. then your next points in hammer. there is one awesome hammer later in the game and some good axes too. plus, it's a roleplaying style

if you're going halforc, there is a good katana, some good two handed swords. basically, don't go shortswords, or staffs or ****ty little weapons like that. good lcuk to you

Galuf the Dwarf · Post by **Galuf the Dwarf** » Sat May 08, 2004 7:12 am

Galuf's advice for those starting out.

Consider your proficiencies VERY CAREFULLY, Nothern Lights. To hit (and defeat) some of the toughest enemies around the end of the game and in the expansion, you need weapons of +4 enchantment or higher. For your information, +6 enchantment is the highest that weapons go in enchantment in the entire game, expansion included.

For a Half-Orc Berzerker, especially an evil-aligned one, I'd actually suggest that you go for two-handed sword, as Thrain suggested. There is a rather powerful sword of for evil-aligned warriors somewhere later in the game. Also, there's another equally powerful one you can purchase WAY later in the Shadows of Amn regardless, though that one is not alignment-specific.

If you decide not to go with that, or Katana, you may want to go for these weapons:

- Halberd; Plenty of powerful Halberds in the game, with some rather nifty special effects on them.

- Spear; You'll find a spear just as powerful as the the 2-handed sword for evil warriors that I mentioned about.

- Warhammer; That hammer that Thrain also mentioned about will definitely come in handy.

These weapons will most likely see your character through many battles and into the expansion (if you have bought and installed that, that is).

Raumoheru · Post by **Raumoheru** » Sat May 08, 2004 8:30 am

my weapon suggestion for a berserker

Stonefire (deleted)
Frostreaver (deleted)
and Azuredge (deleted)

Thrain · Post by **Thrain** » Sat May 08, 2004 12:41 pm

dude, was there any need for the spoilers?

Raumoheru · Post by **Raumoheru** » Sat May 08, 2004 2:51 pm

hows that a spoiler? just telling him the store it can be bought in

fable · Post by **fable** » Sat May 08, 2004 3:36 pm

Originally posted by Raumoheru
hows that a spoiler? just telling him the store it can be bought in

You told him the locations for some of the best weapons a barbarian could wield--which he never asked for. I changed your post. I changed your post. Please, let's not give away stuff that isn't asked for.

Thanks.

Raumoheru · Post by **Raumoheru** » Sat May 08, 2004 4:10 pm

well just cuz it wasnt asked for how do u know he didnt want it?

if u do want tips on where to find things Gamebanshee has a list of all items and their location

fable · Post by **fable** » Sat May 08, 2004 4:18 pm

Originally posted by Raumoheru
well just cuz it wasnt asked for how do u know he didnt want it?

General rule of thumb: we don't give out hints and spoilers to people who don't ask for 'em.

UserUnfriendly · Post by **UserUnfriendly** » Sat May 08, 2004 7:57 pm

of course if there's a class you really like, go with your instincts...

i started out with a sorceror, i bought the game intending to be a magic user from step one, and never looked back...

Northern Lights · Post by **Northern Lights** » Sat May 08, 2004 8:43 pm

I didn’t see them, just logged in. H e H e (spoilers are cool if I don’t want to read then I don’t continue to read on)
Thank for the info. I played the game last night and must say that this is probably going to be the best RPG I’ve ever played. The only downside I see towards this game is that it didn’t come with an instruction manual. In addition, it takes to long to see the spell list because one- has to put there cursor over the spell and wait 5 seconds to see what the spell dose. In addition, I’m dying excessively easily. It’s hard playing three characters at once, plus the main one. There has to be an easier way. I searched all over the internet for a website that has directions on controlling characters, camera zoom, and so on in order to get the basics of how to control characters. Hopefully Amazon dot com has an instruction manual because it is going to take way to long to get use to controlling the characters.

fable · Post by **fable** » Sat May 08, 2004 10:24 pm

How did you buy it? Are you sure there's no manual on the disk, itself?

Iyke · Post by **Iyke** » Sat May 08, 2004 10:51 pm

Surely go to My Computer and browse the CD for documents. Manuals should be there.

Im not sure what you mean about the spells. I seem to remember either clicking or Rclicking on a spell icon in the book to bring up some instant and colorful descriptions.

As for casting the spells, you can use the TAB key ( i hope i remember right ) to bring up info on whatever is under your cursor - you dont have to wait the 5 seconds. Also check Tooltip delay on the options page. When new to the game it might be good to set this to instant. /shrug not sure if this is a help.

Fighting with 3 people: use Pause ALOT. also check the options page for Autopause Conditions. I found it useful to have the game autopause everytime one of my characters sees an enemy. You can issue instructions to your whole party while the game is paused, and then unpause and watch the carnage unfold.

I hope you resolve any issues you have with this game, and go on to enjoy it to the end. Everyone on this forum is very envious of your position - New to BG2 - really you dont know how lucky you are.... Enjoy

Northern Lights · Post by **Northern Lights** » Sun May 09, 2004 12:56 am

Amazon
The game just came with a cheap README with not much other information then system requirements. I figured that it being the collector’s edition and all the game would at least come with a cheap, worn-out old map.

Therion · Post by **Therion** » Mon May 10, 2004 4:24 am

As Iyke said, use PAUSE. Space should be the default key for that. It helps prepare for battle (casting spells), and during a battle.. just because you can coordinate your characters' actions better.

Remember to think of the different spells and special abilities characters have. I am still in my first playing of SOA and find I tend to forget about these and the item special abilities (respectively found under the star and pocket button). Beware of charges on items, though. You don't want to run out of your rod of resurrection when you get in a major battle (for example).

-edit- And don't forget to update your spell selection. A better spell selection (for the situation) can help a lot. And level-drained characters lose spells, so don't forget to reselect the spells before you have them rest when that happens(not that you're likely to run into draining monsters just yet).

Good luck, and have fun. I'd advise you to do things on your own unless you get real problems.. I had/have a lot of fun that way.

Imperator · Post by **Imperator** » Fri May 28, 2004 9:47 am

Originally posted by Northern Lights
In addition, it takes to long to see the spell list because one- has to put there cursor over the spell and wait 5 seconds to see what the spell dose.

There's an option to reduce time for displaying those descriptions. I don't know where exactly, but just go check the game options menu from within the game. There's like a 'feedback' slider or something like that there. Drag that to the left to reduce waiting time. Also, be sure to check other options, like auto-pause and scripts (the latter is in the character info menu). This can make controlling your characters much easier.

Coot · Post by **Coot** » Sat May 29, 2004 3:00 am

Go 'gameplay' then 'tool-tip delay'. Decrease the tool-tip delay (duh).