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I bought Baldur's Gate II, the Collection. It didn't come with a manual, and I'm wondering if there is any way to legally purchase one. I did do the tutorial which was helpful, and printed out the "read me" section, so have a list of hotkeys, but I have a feeling there's a lot of basic information I'm missing.

I've just barely started the game (a half-orc fighter - trying to keep it simple) but have a couple of questions:

1) At the end of the tutorial, in the "test," I managed to get the mage killed by a kobold. If that happens in the real game, what do you do? Just restart? If I were playing M&M VI I'd head for the nearest temple.

2) Is there any particular formation that is preferred for movng around? It occurred to me that mage types should be in the middle or the rear. Can you set it up like that? Maybe it doesn't matter that much.

3) Can you point me to some tips for first-time players? Thanks

jackal45 wrote:I bought Baldur's Gate II, the Collection. It didn't come with a manual, and I'm wondering if there is any way to legally purchase one. I did do the tutorial which was helpful, and printed out the "read me" section, so have a list of hotkeys, but I have a feeling there's a lot of basic information I'm missing.

You're really not. While the guide was thick, it was filled with a lot of atmosphere, rather than hard facts. And some of the facts it contained were wrong. You're far better off doing a search in GameFAQs for Baldur's Gate II, and you'll find some truly excellent guides/walkthroughs. (I'd link individually to them, but GameFAQs literally prevents that.)

1) At the end of the tutorial, in the "test," I managed to get the mage killed by a kobold. If that happens in the real game, what do you do? Just restart? If I were playing M&M VI I'd head for the nearest temple.

I'd suggest reloading. If you don't want to do that, then yes, you can either head to a nearby temple (remember to pick up everything they had, since inventories are handled separately in BG2), or get a character that has the Raise Dead spell. None dead, however, at the beginning.

2) Is there any particular formation that is preferred for movng around? It occurred to me that mage types should be in the middle or the rear. Can you set it up like that? Maybe it doesn't matter that much.

You can set formations, for what it's worth. I would suggest keeping your tank/melee types at the front, and your magic casters at the back.

3) Can you point me to some tips for first-time players? Thanks

GameFAQs, as mentioned. Also, check out the strategy guide here at GameBanshee. Look up specific words using search in this forum, such as spells, or proficiency, or damage, or class. You'll get more than enough very good opinions to keep you going for quite a while.

if you have the same compilation as i do, then the manual can be found as a .pdf file on the disc. hope that helps.

As for formations...

As fable said, it's best to keep your tanks (aka strong melee warriors) up front and your arcane spellcasters to the rear.

That said, it's not a bad idea to try to have a decent warrior in the most rear position to act as a bodyguard for your physically weak mage(s). This rearguard character might just be your party's thief, or someone like Jaheira, if you have a couple more potent tanks up front. A warrior that you use mostly for ranged combat, but can handle themselves in melee is a good rearguard.

There are times when you'll get ambushed that it's nice to have a decently capable warrior who can act as a rearguard, while your mage(s) run away from the melee.

Thanks

Thanks for the info. I'll take a look.

I think I'm going to like this one

Re: Manual

Just to further what fable said, the manual is really kind of a waste. It is good if you're totally unfamiliar with 2nd ed D&D, but after the first few hours it is obsolete and, in some cases, out and out wrong. If you want accurate information, go to gamefaqs and look for just about anything written by Dan Simpson. Imho, his FAQs are the best you'll find.

BGII is a great, great, set of games. Hopefully you'll enjoy playing for a long time.

Welcome to the party pal!

I would recommend playing BG1 first. Look for the version with the box that says "The Original Saga" which has the BG1 expansion too.

BG1 is a better introduction to the game engine (and AD&D 2nd Edition rules) used by both games, because the gameplay in BG1 isn't as complicated as BG2. New spells, abilities, and whatnot are introduced a bit more gradually.

Plus you'll play the story in the order that it happens. If you end up liking BG2, there's a good chance you'll regret not playing BG1 first. BG2 can only be more satisfying if you've taken the entire journey from your character's meager beginnings in Candlekeep.

Just my opinion.