GameBanshee Forums

Wow, so, after having played BG1 a LONG time ago, right around the time it got released, I randomly got the urge to check out BGII. I remember enjoying the hell out of BG1 in many different capacities...busting my head against the keyboard every time that a-hole assassin guy killed me on like the second day of the game...barely getting to Nashgell (sic?)...immolation arrows (MMM!!) random small stuff like that.

I must say, BGII has yet to disappoint in any way shape or form. This is my first playthrough, and I'm not looking at any serious spoilers at all so as to enjoy the plot to it's fullest (although it is pretty obvious what is going on). Also, I'm not min-max'ing much of anything--difficulty is set on normal, and I've only had to do a few reloads a couple times (finally killed that @$^$# shadow dragon, hehe).

I am, I think, nearing the end of chapter two--I'm saved up almost 50k gold, more than enough to pay whats-his-face to connect me with people who can help me find Now-Whiny-Imoen.

I do, however, have a couple questions, if ya'll don't mind (yes, I used the search engine, and yikes...with the following questions, I got either bombarded with too much chaff, or not much at all).

First, is it necessary for me to any of these goddamn romance quests? Whenever I hear Aerie or Jaheira start begging for attention, and that ANNOYING MUSIC, I just start clicking random banter options.

Second, what is up with Jan...the character is amazingly funny, but holy hell does his Hide in Shadows ability fall massively short when he enters the party! I upped it to 45% after getting him two levels (the rest went to Move Silently). Should I get him another level or two before proceeding?

Third, I'm sort of assuming that Imoen won't be playing a major role in the near future, or, most likely, up to the end of vanilla, but will play a role in the expansion (blah blah, rescue her from Irenicus, and kill another baddie in the expansion with her). Hence, I've kinda designed my current party around those assumptions...Minsc, Jaheira, Jan, Mazzy (in archer form), Aerie, and PC (evoker...don't laugh...blowin' **** up went a long way in my old D&D campaigns). Should I plan differently? (oh, and yes, I have gone through a few aborted PCs and parties already).

I hate Stone Golems. To be fair, I haven't really looked at the combat log closely to see why they are giving me such a problem, so I have no ground on which to complain.

Blah blah, yap yap, I'm mostly just yapping to express my very high level of enjoyment of the game. After I finish up with the easy-mode run, I'll probably set sights a bit higher and min-max a bit and play on a much higher difficulty level. For now, though, it really is just all about playing to "see what happens next."

Cheers!

Wow, good job killing the shadow dragon on your first playthrough before chapter 2. I remembered that tried so many times on my first playthrough that I eventually just gave up and snuck past him.

The romance quests aren't necessary at all. They are mostly dialogue. Only Anomen and Jaheira has actual quests associated with their romance. Aerie and Viconia only have quests when you first meet them and no more after that. Having said that, a lot of the players still enjoy doing the romances since it gives you a greater understanding of the characters.

Also keep in mind that if you are far enough in any one of your romances before chapter 6, an additional special quest springs up (Not sure if it happens for Anomen).

Oh and Jan doesn't need Pick locking or Stealth skills. He is an illusionist and can cast the spell Knock and Improved Invisibility. You can still invest in those areas if you want to save his spell slots for other spells but otherwise, pick lock and stealth really isn't necessary.

As for party configuration, just choose anyone you like unless if they're fighting amongst themselves. There's no such problems with your current party though and you're not missing too much without Imoen. She does have a lot to say in ToB but there aren't any quests associated with her though.

The only possible problem with your current party is that half of it consist of mages. Micromanaging them can be be a pain especially when you have to configure all their spells and changing them for different battles. Of course, you can just have Jan do nothing but fire his magical crossbow but he is still, more effective when actually casting spells

Different types of golems have different resistances and immunity towards different types of weapons and magic. Heed Minsc's request when he asks for a bigger weapon.

It IS an awsome game

Welcome into the family, brother

If you are not interested in your companions romantically, tell them. There are dialogue options that make this clear, and it's a far more efficient solution than clicking at random.

Jan's skills will progress as any other thief's skills, but you can make him more effective with spells. As to Imoen, you can decide when the occasion presents itself, so just play on and enjoy

Ugh, Firkraag (sic?) just smacked my face for a few rounds. I think the major problem is that I usually start playing after a few beers, and end up paying more attention to Mr. Crazy-Talky-Sword in Minsc's hands than anything like "strategy."

In any case, great community here to accompany a great game.

Cheers!

I envy you who still has so much excitement to look forward to

Even tho i still love playing the game over and over, its still A little boring sometimes when you know exactly where every trap is, where all encounters are and where all quests is etc.