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Hello all,

I'm wondering if Icewind dale is worth playing, as I've seen quite mixed reviews of it. I've played Baldur's gate, Planescape torment and Neverwinter nights, and have especially enjoyed the first two. I've got very little time to spare, so how does the IWD series fare against those three games? What is better and worse in IWD? How hard is it?

IWD 1 is a good game, with quite enjoyable storyline.
IWD 2 is a hack-and-slash with very good storyline, some excellent NPC's and enjoyable combat, but everything else about it is terrible.

Baldur's Gate is more RPG'ish while IWD series are focused on combat, and combat only.

Hope this helps.

friendlyarm wrote:Hello all,

I'm wondering if Icewind dale is worth playing, as I've seen quite mixed reviews of it. I've played Baldur's gate, Planescape torment and Neverwinter nights, and have especially enjoyed the first two. I've got very little time to spare, so how does the IWD series fare against those three games? What is better and worse in IWD? How hard is it?

Well, depends on your party.
My party in IWD 1:

Human Paladin.
18/66
18
18
6
15
18
Long swords.

Half-Elf Cleric/Ranger.
18/99
18
18
9
18
8
Hammers, maces, flails.

Half-Elf Fighter/Druid.
18/56
18
18
9
18
15
Darts, daggers, scimitars, clubs.

Elf Fighter/Mage.
18/63
19
17
18
12
8
Bows, great swords, long swords.

Halfling Fighter/Thief.
17
19
18
7
17
7
Crossbows, long swords, short swords, daggers.

Human Bard.
10
18
16
18
14
18
Slings, any one-handed weapon, I ended up with a good long sword close to the end.



Now, I rolled everyones stats for hours, so they were pretty hyped-up. My Cleric/Ranger was lucky enough to score a 18/99 Strength, and with the 1 extra attack for the Ranger Class, she was doing quite well. I didn't spend much time worrying about reloading if I got some loot I didn't like, but I got great stuff anyway.

I buffed with various spells, mostly along the lines of Chant, Bless, Emotion spells, Haste, Resist Fear (if I needed to), Prayer etc. and pretty much every battle was a breeze, even the final one against the generic villain. I hope I'm not spoiling much by saying that you don't finish the game by cashing in a loaf of bread to the local inn-keeper, but by kicking ass in a grand battle.



As for combat I usually followed a rather easy plan:
Buff up and summon whatever I wanted to summon.

Now, the Paladin would rush in and hack away.

Same with my Cleric/Ranger. Healer as well in conjunction with the Fighter/Druid.

The Fighter/Thief would fire away with her crossbow, and doing a good job of it as well.

The Fighter/Mage would pelt the enemies with spells and a bow, usually disabling spells of some sort. Same with the Bard.

The Bard would pluck away with spells and the sling. I gave him the sling instead of the Halfling, because of the ONE item in the game a Bard could carry in his shield slot, so he needed a one-handed melee weapon and a sling. But the crossbow I found for the Fighter/Thief had an insane Thac0, so not a big deal really.

The Fighter/Druid would fire away with darts, and the number of attacks per round with darts is insane anyway, so the real problem was actually keeping a steady supply of darts.

I honestly don't think I reloaded more than 7-8 times throughout an entire run through because of poor execution of these simple steps. I never had to reload the final battle in the original or the expansion.

As for my Icewind Dale 2 party: http://www.gamebanshee.com/forums/icewi ... 18691.html



The storylines in both games are okay, but if you're expecting some sort of epic adventure with some kind of grand personal character development like in Planescape or BG, you'll be horribly disappointed. It's horrible in every way in those regards. The two games are all about combat, and if you like that, then you'll like those two games. Your party is very impersonal and static, and none of them ever get those interactions the other games were known for. You don't even get many REALLY interesting or inspirational conversations with NPC's. The areas and dungeons in particular are well made, though, and the monster slashing is abundant. Basically they're allright, but I enjoy games with party interaction more.

Thank you very much for taking your time to answer this thread.
Perhaps I'll try the first one sometime. Oh, just one more, are the I's and II's storylines connected somehow, like they were in Baldur's gate?

Yes and no. The plots are not connected, but the places are.

friendlyarm wrote:Oh, just one more, are the I's and II's storylines connected somehow, like they were in Baldur's gate?

yes but not like in BG 1-2(they are not the same heroes)

SPOILER:

Spoiler

the big bad boss in IWD1 is Belhifet(a glabrezu or balor I dont remember).In the 2. game you will face the halfbreed childs of Belhifet(Isair and Madae) and they are the final bosses of IWD2.

I consider the IWD games better than the BG games (smaller budget and less marketing features but more honest and better balanced), they're definitely worth playing.

IWD's the first IE game I've played, so I'm especially fond of it.
Don't expect much from the NPC interactions, as there are none that can be recruited, and there are just a fist full of talkative ones per chapter.
The combat (IWD1 follows 2nd ed. rules while IWD2 follows early 3rd ed.) however is the most tactical, challenging (sans some BG2 boss battles) and abundant - and consequently most fun of the lot.
And they're the nicest looking IE games made.

Stworca wrote:IWD 2 is a hack-and-slash with very good storyline, some excellent NPC's and enjoyable combat, but everything else about it is terrible.

Just curious, but what else is there to IWDs than enjoyable combat and good storyline to tie it up?

I found Icewind Dale a little boring at first, but it really is worth sticking with.

There are a few mods out there (gibberling 3) that make it more like Baldur's Gate by adding party members with personalities and interactions and romance options (you can choose classes and dual classes for them) if that is what you are looking for. For me this mod + the tweak packs turned what is a great tactical RPG with a dull ass storyline into one of the most fun RPG's I have ever played.

What's been said so far is an accurate account of both games. A few things to add though. The Interface for IWDII is very different to IWDI or BG and so are the class kits and spells. I found the music in IWDI pretty damn good also. Some of the tunes (Kuldahar) will stay with you for a while. If you've read any R.A Salvatore you may also enjoy finding out some of the background knowledge of the Icewind Dale region and a bit of history about a certain shards stay therein.
Hope this helps and enjoy, they are both great games.

sesobebo wrote: Just curious, but what else is there to IWDs than enjoyable combat and good storyline to tie it up?

[url="http://www.gamebanshee.com/forums/rpg-user-reviews-118/icewind-dale-ii-118714.html"]Read my review, good sir. Esp. the part called "And the 9th hell is called Wandering Village."[/url]

Even though IWD1 didn't have any other good elements other than combat and storyline, the downsides weren't so damn visible and annoying. Not once during IWD1 was i wondering "Why the hell am i even playing further" or "What? You god damn hag, get the damn horn YOURSELF" nor was i screaming "Why can't i just slaughter the damn villagers and find my own way!?"
In IWD 2 you had to do ALL the quests from "Shovel 10 piles of crap" (aka wandering village exciting adventures) quest family, to advance the main plot. No way around it.

Also if you create "bad guys" that follow a right cause that you agree with, then you need to either give the heroes a good reason to fight them, or an option to join their cause.

Spoiler ahead

Spoiler

The 10 gold pieces that you'll get from Targos in return for crushing the dreams of every half-breed in the universe are the main reason I've uninstalled IWD2 for the 3rd, and final time.

"Yes Madae, i agree with your cause, and as a half-orc i too was despised by everyone.. However, the dude at Targos will pay me 3 gold pieces extra if i kill you, even though i haven't spoken with him for three months, and my job was to contact Neverwinter troops.. 5 chapters ago"

End of spoiler & end of post.

IWD1? Yes
IWD2? NO!

As a huge fan of the diablo series, I love IWD2. There are some frustrating parts for sure, but the fighting element of the game I really like. I find the RPG is less than BG2, but it is okay.
With HOF in IWD2, you get to see your characters advance to level 30 and become the ultimate character that you could hope for. I love the development in the characters, so keep coming back to see what different creations I can come up with. I am a huge fan of the 3rd edition rules. The replayability is very good.
In terms of how hard the game is, a lot depends on your party. HOF is a lot different than the regular game, and how you build a party that is effective is much different. Most "power party's" are built for HOF. For the first time through, I find fighters/barbarians/paladins to be the best. Sorcerers/Wizards are pretty good, but their elite spells come much later on. You will definitely want at least one cleric in the regular game.
For HOF magic seems to rule the game a lot more. I have 3 clerics, one sorcerer and one wizard in my party, and it is very effective. I started the 3 clerics and one wizard with other classes so they would be more effective in the regular game, but then changed them to be more effective for HOF.