some questions by a newbie

demonwolf · Post by **demonwolf** » Thu Jul 08, 2004 3:37 pm

Just started playing baldurs gate 2 .. and have a few questions

1) ive heard about a sling of everard +5 that id like to get .. and from what ive found (using google and forums) is that you buy it from joluv at the copper coronet.. ive just completed nalias quest in the second chapter.. and the slavers quest.. and i want this item .. yet i cant find joluv ... the best place for me to buy weapons and armour it seems is at the promenade the place next to the circus tent. any other places to buy good armour and weapons.

2) both jahera and aerie are making romantic conversations with me.. will this continue.. wont there be a point where i have to choose one?.. i kinda dont like jaheras arrogant attitude and her 'balance' remarks.. and jeez .. dont try and get a new guy by talking about your dead ex.. thats not gonna be helpful.
But on the other hand.. aerie whines and is so needy plus attention seeking ..

3) Ive currently got misc (and BOO!) jahera yoshimo aerie and nalia in my party. And im a thief swashbuckler I really think ive got too many thieves in my party .. and since i know that .. *SPOILER* yoshi is gonna die Do you think its wise to swap him out for anomen hes annoying but having another melee guy would really be a big help specially since i keep finding magical long swords and warhammers that i as the main cant use (frustrating.. wish i could find a magical katana)
anyway .. is there anyone better in the other quests that illf ind soon better than anomen ?.. so i should stick with my party until then

Stilgar · Post by **Stilgar** » Thu Jul 08, 2004 3:51 pm

[QUOTE=demonwolf]1) ive heard about a sling of everard +5 that id like to get .. and from what ive found (using google and forums) is that you buy it from joluv at the copper coronet.. ive just completed nalias quest in the second chapter.. and the slavers quest.. and i want this item .. yet i cant find joluv ... the best place for me to buy weapons and armour it seems is at the promenade the place next to the circus tent. any other places to buy good armour and weapons.
[/QUOTE]
Joluf is part of the bonus merchants from the special edition of the game. You can download them
here @Gamebanshee

[QUOTE=demonwolf]2) both jahera and aerie are making romantic conversations with me.. will this continue.. wont there be a point where i have to choose one?.. i kinda dont like jaheras arrogant attitude and her 'balance' remarks.. and jeez .. dont try and get a new guy by talking about your dead ex.. thats not gonna be helpful.
But on the other hand.. aerie whines and is so needy plus attention seeking ..
[/QUOTE]
You have to pick one at some point. You can choose whoever you like.

[QUOTE=demonwolf]3) Ive currently got misc (and BOO!) jahera yoshimo aerie and nalia in my party. And im a thief swashbuckler I really think ive got too many thieves in my party .. and since i know that .. *SPOILER* yoshi is gonna die Do you think its wise to swap him out for anomen hes annoying but having another melee guy would really be a big help specially since i keep finding magical long swords and warhammers that i as the main cant use (frustrating.. wish i could find a magical katana)
anyway .. is there anyone better in the other quests that illf ind soon better than anomen ?.. so i should stick with my party until then[/QUOTE]
You can finish the game with every party you like. There is a good Katana in the Guarded Compound in the Temple district. I wouldnt count Nalia as a thief. You need a good fighter, you can drop Yoshimo and take on Valygar, or Keldorn. If you take a look on the Gamebanshee/BG2 site you can see their stat's and where to find them.

GNGSpam · Post by **GNGSpam** » Thu Jul 08, 2004 4:07 pm

[QUOTE=demonwolf]Just started playing baldurs gate 2 .. and have a few questions

1) ive heard about a sling of everard +5 that id like to get .. and from what ive found (using google and forums) is that you buy it from joluv at the copper coronet.. ive just completed nalias quest in the second chapter.. and the slavers quest.. and i want this item .. yet i cant find joluv ... the best place for me to buy weapons and armour it seems is at the promenade the place next to the circus tent. any other places to buy good armour and weapons.

2) both jahera and aerie are making romantic conversations with me.. will this continue.. wont there be a point where i have to choose one?.. i kinda dont like jaheras arrogant attitude and her 'balance' remarks.. and jeez .. dont try and get a new guy by talking about your dead ex.. thats not gonna be helpful.
But on the other hand.. aerie whines and is so needy plus attention seeking ..

3) Ive currently got misc (and BOO!) jahera yoshimo aerie and nalia in my party. And im a thief swashbuckler I really think ive got too many thieves in my party .. and since i know that .. *SPOILER* yoshi is gonna die Do you think its wise to swap him out for anomen hes annoying but having another melee guy would really be a big help specially since i keep finding magical long swords and warhammers that i as the main cant use (frustrating.. wish i could find a magical katana)
anyway .. is there anyone better in the other quests that illf ind soon better than anomen ?.. so i should stick with my party until then[/QUOTE]

1) They are bonus merchants. Originally they were just meant for people who bought the collectors edition of BG2. Bioware however eventually released them for everyone. It seems that you haven't done this yet, so let me suggest you go to http://www.baldurdash.org/ and download their "bug fixes" file. It will include the bonus merchants and numerous fixes for bugs. First you will have to download the latest patch from Bioware itself though (in case you haven't yet). It is all explained on the site.

"The Adventurers Mart", which is the store you are at, pretty much has all the equipment you will ever buy, besides the two bonus merchants (one actually in the Adventurers Mart, the other in the Copper Coronet). The Copper Coronet proper has a few low level pieces of equipment that are useful (blade of roses for example), but not really much. Also you will likely need to scout spell stores and potion dealers (you'll run into them) for specific spells or potions, but "equipment" (swords, shields, armor, etc) is pretty much restricted to those two areas.

2) Eventually you will have to choose. There are "mods" (short for modifications) that change/add-to the romances including one which allows you to have more then one romance on-going at the same time. Look around the forum, I think the baldurdash site might even have it though I don't know

3) Well, ask 10 people for party advice and you will get 20 answers. But since you asked, im going to indulge myself and give it to you ; ) First of all, let me commend you on your character choice. I love single-class thiefs. Oh sure dual from a fighter to a thief is better, but a single-class thief forces you to act like a thief, which is immensely fun. A Swashbuckler turns into a decent fighter though with low hit-points. Add in Minsc and Jaheria (who is serviceable but not good) and you have decent fighter strength. You only NEED one tank in the game, and considering the low AC you and Jaheria will have and decent damage you can deal out, you aren't dying. Two thieves ARE overkill though. I sometimes take Yoshimo though for the simple reason of replacing him with Imoen in Spellhold.

That said, I wouldn't recommend taking Anomen unless you are replacing Jaheria with him (which wouldn't be a bad idea if you weren't playing the first time through and romancing). Anomen, like Jaheria, is really only a serviceable fighter due to his not-so-good THACO. Anomen however becomes a pretty stout cleric (better then Jaheria) and you can eventually give him the Crom Faeyer and he begins to hold his own in fighting (I have him in my current game and he went from 12% of the kills to 25% because of crom).

Besides, with Jaheria and Aerie, you have decent clerical power. 3 clerics is an awful lot. (also as a side not, Anomen is a cleric which means no edged weapons, ie no long swords. Fourtantly there are more then enough hammers and maces)

If you want a 6th member who is not Imoen (which is understandable since you also already have 2 mages) I would recommend holding out for Keldorn. If you don't know who that is I will spoil this little bit for you. He is a Paladin who uses two handed swords. He would make a worthy addition to any good party, and really starts to shine after chapter 3.

FireLighter · Post by **FireLighter** » Thu Jul 08, 2004 9:21 pm

The bonus merchant in the Adventurers mart, is named deidre, she sells the entire baldurans items (except the helm you find in irenicus' dungeon) and a lot of other expensive items, like the (shield?) of mirroring, either shield or cloak dont remember. Joluv is the merchant in the copper coronet, she sells the sling of Everrard +5 and other cool goodies, she is located near anomen, while deidre is behind ribald in the adventuring mart, hope that helps, and welcome to the forums

(Note: the items they sell are REALLY expensive, costing as much as 30-40k so you may need to wait until later in the game to buy some of them.)

Nightmare · Post by **Nightmare** » Thu Jul 08, 2004 10:18 pm

The best item you can buy, from either, is the Robe of Vecna. Hands down.

FireLighter · Post by **FireLighter** » Thu Jul 08, 2004 10:30 pm

Ya, one of the most expensive to >_< which reminds me, ive got 40k+, so im goin SHOPPIN!!!

demonwolf · Post by **demonwolf** » Fri Jul 09, 2004 5:21 am

Just a few more questions

1) My main character is a thief swashbuckler and i typically use him to disarm traps pick locks and lay traps.. hes a pretty good fighter and i have him armed with a katana +1 and helps out misc at the forefront of an attack.. I read all this talk on here about how great hide in shadows and back stabbing is.. Ive never used it.
But Id love to know how. Ive tried hiding in shadows a few times and it hardly ever succceeds. Ive probably spent too many points on other skills i guess. When i do get to hide in shadows successfully how do you backstab? After you backstab someone do they see you ?

Ive just got into a fight with the bridge district ripper (the murders mini quest) and he keeps dissapearing and reappering to hit misc who dies quickly .. is this backstabbing.. and im guessing he becomes visible while he backstabs .. so he does hide in shadows again?

2) Jahera is a druid mage i think which is why she shapeshifts. How does she learn new spells? she has the scroll option and not the magic book. And whenever i get new spell scrolls i usually give it to aerie or nalia to look at and write in her magic book, but i dont think you can do that with jahera, at least i dont remember writing anything to her scroll. So how do you make her get new spells.

3) talking about spells.. im pretty clueless when it comes to magic.. magic missile and bark skin and the curative magic are ones i typically use .. but I think i could get a better result if i use magic more effectively.
What are the spells that I should always have memorised by my mages? The ones that are invaluable?

Thanks for all the replies and the help

Stilgar · Post by **Stilgar** » Fri Jul 09, 2004 5:28 am

1. Swashbucklers cant backstab, thats one of the downsides of the class (dont worry the extra fighting makes up fro it)
To backstab you have to hide in shadows, or become invisible, and move BEHIND the enemy and then attack him. If you hit you do a backstab (PS only thiefs can backstab, and only with weapons usable by thieves)

2. Jahiera is a druid, druid's use just like clerics another kind of spellsystem. They have all spells available from the beginning, and have to make a selection out of that.

3. Stoneskin is a good mage spell, cause it gives them a better defence. For the rest, just read the spelldescriptions, there are tons of spells that are all usefull in one way or another.

stramoski · Post by **stramoski** » Fri Jul 09, 2004 5:32 am

Answers

1) Backstab is a neat trick, but I think the bridge thieves are actually using potions of invisibility.
2) Jaheria is a druid, and she automatically get all the spells for her level upon level-up. All druid can shapeshift (you even meet one later who can become a werewolf.
3) I think Magic Missile is EVERYONE's favorite. I usually focus more on summoning, though, especially when I don't have many fighters. I love having Dire Wolves die for me on the lower levels.

Spell choices are a matter of taste, though. Try new ones occasionally. It wasn't until my second pass through the game when I first used WEB. Now I use it all the time.

GOOD LUCK!!

Iyke · Post by **Iyke** » Fri Jul 09, 2004 7:35 am

Most people play this game a few times, and even then will have spells they have never used!

Stop being so harsh on Jaheira! (swoon). Not sure what level she is yet, but you will find the Summon Fire Elemental to be a useful spell. Also in vanilla game, the spell 'Ironskins' transforms her into a damn good tank. Although its not my style, the spell 'Insect Plague' is a very popular tactic vs enemy spell-casters.

Some mage spells you might not have used: 'Emotion' - one of the ultimate crowd control spells. It has a habit of making some fights too easy, but that can be better than death+reload! 'Vampiric Touch' - gotta love that spell in close combats. I think it does double if you Project Image first. 'Chromatic Orb' - at higher levels this is better than magic missile, and it doesnt slow down my display. 'Haste / Improved Haste' - dont underestimate their effect on a battle.

As soon as you can learn and memorize Project Image, that is highly recommended. The image can cast all memorized spells, but they will still be memorized and available by the real mage, after the image has gone. The image can also use scrolls held in quick-item slots.

Also, make sure your mages always wear 'Stoneskin'.

TRODTROD · Post by **TRODTROD** » Fri Jul 09, 2004 7:48 am

get a few protections up to help them, at lower levels Armour is still pretty good! Also Stoneskin is still very good even as you get further up the levels, that will prevent your mages getting demolished quickly by some fighters, it will at least give them a few seconds to get away.

Personally, even at high levels i STILL find Horror brilliant, its low level so you can memorise it easily (with lots of them) and bar undead it often works, even if only one person is effected out of 10, thats sometimes enough.

However its still number one, Magic Missile is still number 1. I currently have 3 mages loaded with 2 magic missiles each, in the space of 10 seconds having 30 Magic Missiles going off at once is a supremly hard thing to have, even at high levels.

Also, it can often get around some magic resistance because there is so many that at least a few will get through.

Other good defensive magic i suppose is clasically Globes of invulnerability. They seem so simple but work so effectivly.

ALSO, have a few of your mages always have magic that gets rid of magic, e.g. Dispel Magic, Dispel Invisiblity and Oracle.

TROD.

Nightmare · Post by **Nightmare** » Fri Jul 09, 2004 4:32 pm

[QUOTE=demonwolf]Just a few more questions

1) My main character is a thief swashbuckler and i typically use him to disarm traps pick locks and lay traps.. hes a pretty good fighter and i have him armed with a katana +1 and helps out misc at the forefront of an attack.. I read all this talk on here about how great hide in shadows and back stabbing is.. Ive never used it.
But Id love to know how. Ive tried hiding in shadows a few times and it hardly ever succceeds. Ive probably spent too many points on other skills i guess. When i do get to hide in shadows successfully how do you backstab? After you backstab someone do they see you ?

Ive just got into a fight with the bridge district ripper (the murders mini quest) and he keeps dissapearing and reappering to hit misc who dies quickly .. is this backstabbing.. and im guessing he becomes visible while he backstabs .. so he does hide in shadows again?

2) Jahera is a druid mage i think which is why she shapeshifts. How does she learn new spells? she has the scroll option and not the magic book. And whenever i get new spell scrolls i usually give it to aerie or nalia to look at and write in her magic book, but i dont think you can do that with jahera, at least i dont remember writing anything to her scroll. So how do you make her get new spells.

3) talking about spells.. im pretty clueless when it comes to magic.. magic missile and bark skin and the curative magic are ones i typically use .. but I think i could get a better result if i use magic more effectively.
What are the spells that I should always have memorised by my mages? The ones that are invaluable?

Thanks for all the replies and the help[/QUOTE]

1) As Stilgar said, Swashbucklers cannot backstab, but are better fighters. To use hide in shadows/move silently, make sure both have adequate points in them (70-100). Also, you cannot hide in shadows if your thief is in view of an enemy; those repeatedly disappearing thieves are either using rings of invisibility (there are two such rings in the game though, and only grant Invisiblility once a day), but most likely simple potions of invisibility.

2) Jaheira is a Fighter/Druid. Druids and Clerics don't learn spells from scrolls, they automatically learn all the spells possible when they level up (their diety gives them the knowledge). If you want higher level spells, wait until she levels up.

3) Some tips:

Level 1 - Magic Missile (can be used throughout the game, decent damage); Identify (for Identifying magical items); Chromatic Orb (can be deadly if the enemy fails his saving throw)
Level 2 - Melf's Acid arrow (good for killing trolls); Mirror Image (good defensive spell); Blur (another good defensive spell).
Level 3 - Haste (makes everyone a better fighter and move faster, an awesome buffing spell); Melf's Minute Meteors (makes your mage a force to be reckoned with, damage wise); Fireball OR Skulltrap (deals good area damage, I personally prefer Fireball for its longer range over Skulltrap's increased damage at higher levels); Flame Arrow (deals good damage); Lightning (deals a lot of damage, though dangerous in small areas...but if you master bouncing it, you'll love this spell); Clairvoyence (only one character should have this spell memorized once).
Level 4 - Greater Malison (lowers saving throws of all enemies, making your spells have more possible effect); Wizard's Eye (great scout); Stoneskin (great defence for your mage); Secret Words (dispels enemy mage's spell protections)
Level 5 - Breach (the doom to all enemy mages, this removes all combat protections from the mage); Lower Resistance (makes your magic work); Cone of Cold (can deal a large amount of damage); Animate Dead (great after level 15).

For levels 6, 7, and upwards, you'll be able to figure it out for yourself.

TRODTROD · Post by **TRODTROD** » Fri Jul 09, 2004 5:04 pm

be careful with cone of cold at high levels, very dangerous if mis-directed

TROD.

estaze · Post by **estaze** » Fri Jul 09, 2004 5:22 pm

Seriously, Korgan and Keldorn are indispensible, and Edwin when it comes to that

Ekental · Post by **Ekental** » Fri Jul 09, 2004 11:01 pm

Just to point out
Skull Trap AND fireball (lvl 3) may be useful to have since skull trap can hurt many critters that fireball simply can't cause skull trap is considered "magic" dmg and fireball is not. Though fireball does have a longer range
Project Image (lvl 7) makes a copy of your spellcaster (though the caster him/herself) goes immobile for the duration and cannot make attacks, + if he/she is damaged then the spell ends, but the copy can cast all the spells and at the end your mage still has all his/her spells (minus the project image you casted of course)
Haste (lvl 3) (after the 2nd cast) makes EVERYONE fatigued, which is a pain, improved haste doesn't
Chaos (lvl 5) just like confusion though the enemy doesn't get as much of a save vs it. Great crowd control spell and is useful even when monsters consistently start to save against emotion, lasts longer as well.
Melf's minute meteors (lvl 3) hits as a +5 weapon and you get lots of attacks with it/round, so it's useful against just about anything and if your a sorceror either you pick this or flame arrow
Resist fear (lvl 2) useful against the Symbol spells that your party eventually gets nailed with (nothing more annoying than your party scattering in fear) and dragon fear (which obviously dragons use on you)
Spook (lvl 1) eventually enemies have to save against it at a -6 penalty, so its great if you want to get someone out of the fight for a bit

Also you might want to think about experimenting with a sorceror. Always liked them better than mages because they could cast any of their known spells more times per day than a mage, though they got less to choose from.

Sorceror spell choices are really really important so if your going to try a sorceror ask around or go on gamefaqs for help on spell picks.

If you want a good katana there is a really really good on in a guarded compount in the NE part of the temple district.

And Sling of Everard, while +5 is not as good as Sling of Seeking +2, which factors in your str bonus for dmg! Bernard @ Copper Coronet sells this

Thrain · Post by **Thrain** » Sat Jul 10, 2004 6:36 am

And Sling of Everard, while +5 is not as good as Sling of Seeking +2, which factors in your str bonus for dmg! Bernard @ Copper Coronet sells this

IIRC, the sling of everad does not require bullets and as there are no +5 bullets in the game this gives is a distinct advantage over the sling of seeking. and let's face it, any character using a sling is not likely to have that high strength unless youve got the strength enhancing items

Ekental · Post by **Ekental** » Sat Jul 10, 2004 7:13 pm

? Thats the point no? With a strength enhancing item that sling becomes deadly, as for the +5 bonus I agree that its useful, but for situations that don't require it sling of seeking is the best bet. Also, not requiring bullets is bad cause you don't get xtra dmg from enchanted stones unless you equip them, which is what I do for all ranged weapons regardless