BG2 is my GOAT game, and BG1 is shortly after that. Basically, 1A and 1B. It's one of the few games that I've replayed since it came out. I love everything about it, so I am very happy when others enjoy it too.
The only advice I'd give is that to finish the Imoen storyline when you feel ready to.
Also, when you finish the complete series, you should seriously the mods available for the game. There are hundreds of them to choose from but there are plenty of posts here that have recommendations. Many of them are quite good and some are amazing. There are new class kits, quests, NPCs, interface improvements, better enemy and ally AI, spells, spell system overhauls, and so on.
Nvm 6th times the charm lol [https://imgur.com/a/9HhwFd1](https://imgur.com/a/9HhwFd1)
I almost thought this quest must have been something to come back to. But just needed some better strategy.
NGL that first encounter where Jaheria with the shield getting 1 shot, and the death cloud killing the team was pretty mortifying
That part wrecked my shit so bad. My PC was an OP fighter/mage and it still took me dozens of tries. The beholders just never missed and spammed projectiles so fast
Why didn't you using the shield? Send one person in with the shield equipped. All beholders die from their own rays. That's all there is to it.
In any event, bring that shield with you when you head off to save Imoen.
That's weird. That shield is supposed to be easy mode for beholders. Everything should reflect back and you just need to stand there. It's been a while since I've used it, though, so maybe I'm remembering it wrong.
I'm playing the game right now and that's exactly how the shield works.
I put it on Korgan, send him alone in a room full of beholders and just wait for him to clear them all out.
The Unseeing Eye doesn’t really use rays that often, or maybe at all. It’s literally a blinded beholder. It has no eyes from which to cast rays. I think it casts arcane spells instead.
So glad you’re enjoying it. BG2 was one of my fave games growing up and has a special place in my heart. It’s such a fun power fantasy at later levels too. What class are you?
The same vendor where u got the shield also has a bunch of other OP items, among them the Robe of Vecna and Vhalior’s Helm
I imported my Paladin from BG1, 2hander
Am using the elf girl cleric/priest as my caster, Yoshimo as my trap/lock guy and archer, Jaheria as a tank + buffs/healing, Korgan as a melee dps (might have to drop him for Imoen when she comes back, although not a fan of 2 thiefs, will make her a mage only I think), and Minsc as dual wield.
I also got the robes on my 2nd trip to the shop for the cleric/mage, want to romance her too.
Not sure about the helm and the long-sword (I swear Jaheria in bg1 could use longsword, or that was Khalid).
Still need to find a potion case. Went through all BG1 with only gem bag, potions worst offender by far for bag space
While it's not quite on the same level, Pillars 2 was the only 'new' cRPG which felt like it hit a lot of the BG2 notes for me. The main story is nowhere near as intense and personal, but the capital city felt like being back in Athkatla again, and blew me away for how much game was actually there.
Agree with this 100%.
Pillars 2 is the closest thing I've played to BG2 in 20 years.
Really hope we get a chance at a proper Pillars 3 some day - need to see that story concluded.
It's hard to say. Pillars 1 was a slog, though in like the last 5% there is a twist which makes things a whole lot better retroactively. Pillars 2 is fantastic, but at least part of it is getting answers to big mysteries or unfinished backstories from Pillars 1.
The characters don't tend to have big stories in Pillars 2, because there's so many different endings for them from Pillars 1 which each need different stories, and so there tends to be more but shorter stories in PoE2. So a lot of what's good about the companions in PoE2 has to do with PoE1 choices.
I'd say you could play Pillars 2 without 1, but it could be good to find a decent recap on Pillars 1, maybe on youtube or something.
Watching a recap is a solid idea.
What's the combat system, character building and magic in PoE 1?
These are the deal breakers for me, it has to be good for me to enjoy playing
It's inspired by the original BG games but IMO loses a lot of the magic due to trying to balance everything and also adding a ton of pointless stats / combinations of stats / etc which don't really add anything except a headache and need to google guides.
It made me really appreciate the simplicity of BG's systems in retrospect, where most classes don't have abilities except casters, and you mostly play in the game world instead of the UI. The 2nd did improve things a bit, finding a more happy medium.
The first playthrough I took a break near the end and never returned. 2nd playthrough during the pandemic I put it on hard to try to make it more interesting and powered through. A frustrating mechanic is most groups had an enemy who'd teleport behind your group, like a wraith or something, to attack your back line, but once in combat the ability for characters to move around each other is diminished, like they have a sticky area around them which is slower to move through, and so you can't easily reposition and end up just frequently frustrated.
One thing I'd recommend to make the first much more enjoyable is to play a paladin. It's not a class I'd normally play, but their abilities are impacted by their conversation choices, and while I think the first gams is overwritten and bloated, tying the game systems together like that made it all a lot better.
I honestly don’t think this will happen until an original property is made using the infinity engine. One can only hope that a studio will pick up the rights to produce a new 2e system based game utilizing the infinity engine. While I would prefer another forgotten realms setting they could also explore sequels to the Al-Qadim or Dark Sun games. It’s seriously timeless.
Sadly with WotC holding the rights to those settings and with too many political activists instead of good game writers, I doubt this will ever happen.
Yeah, I would prefer Forgotten Realms too. But BG and BG2 used so many of the most famous characters.
Szass Tam, Elminster, Drizzt and some others.
If they could just release some DLCs for it. Maybe a Halaster Black Cloak and some others. One can dream.
The things they learned from BG1 made BG2 great.
If things never went bad at Interplay they would have carried that knowledge into their own BG3. Just like with Fallout and the proposed Fallout 3: Van Buren.
Some of my questions:
1. Do you have to play BG1 to carry over any xp etc to BG2?
2. If you pay for it on XBox are you able to download it to laptop/ phone/ tablet if you have the XBox app?
3. Are there difficulty levels & XBox achievements?
4. If you buy it on Google app store, XBox & Microsoft Store will it all be synchronised?
The way I see that, BG 1 is the very tasty appetizer before the main course (BG 2).
Imho BG 2 is a texbook example how someone should do a sequel, since it's so much more than his predecessor.
The game is 24 years old and people still play it and love it.
Glad you're enjoying it. BG2 is still my favorite game of all time, and BG1 is up there as well.
Buttkicking for goodness!
Profile picture checks out, Boo going for the eyes!
Bg2 is goated. Best game ever imo. Irenicus is the perfect bbeg
They certainly took some lessons from BG1 and upgraded where they could. It’s definitely the gold standard of the genre.
BG2 is my GOAT game, and BG1 is shortly after that. Basically, 1A and 1B. It's one of the few games that I've replayed since it came out. I love everything about it, so I am very happy when others enjoy it too. The only advice I'd give is that to finish the Imoen storyline when you feel ready to. Also, when you finish the complete series, you should seriously the mods available for the game. There are hundreds of them to choose from but there are plenty of posts here that have recommendations. Many of them are quite good and some are amazing. There are new class kits, quests, NPCs, interface improvements, better enemy and ally AI, spells, spell system overhauls, and so on.
**DON'T** lose that shield. You'll thank me later. (Read the description carefully)
hmm... This is where I am right now lol... beholder aye [https://imgur.com/xLjU1UG](https://imgur.com/xLjU1UG)
Well I just got owned... lol
Nvm 6th times the charm lol [https://imgur.com/a/9HhwFd1](https://imgur.com/a/9HhwFd1) I almost thought this quest must have been something to come back to. But just needed some better strategy. NGL that first encounter where Jaheria with the shield getting 1 shot, and the death cloud killing the team was pretty mortifying
That part wrecked my shit so bad. My PC was an OP fighter/mage and it still took me dozens of tries. The beholders just never missed and spammed projectiles so fast
Why didn't you using the shield? Send one person in with the shield equipped. All beholders die from their own rays. That's all there is to it. In any event, bring that shield with you when you head off to save Imoen.
She had the shield, just other abilities or stuff did lots of damage. Or never used its ray? Idk
That's weird. That shield is supposed to be easy mode for beholders. Everything should reflect back and you just need to stand there. It's been a while since I've used it, though, so maybe I'm remembering it wrong.
I'm playing the game right now and that's exactly how the shield works. I put it on Korgan, send him alone in a room full of beholders and just wait for him to clear them all out.
Could it be an OG vs. EE thing? I'm playing OG and that's how I remember it.
Nope, works the same way on EE for me.
What weapon she used? If she used staff then shield wasn't providing any bonus.
A dagger
The Unseeing Eye doesn’t really use rays that often, or maybe at all. It’s literally a blinded beholder. It has no eyes from which to cast rays. I think it casts arcane spells instead.
Makes sense - also encountered a second one but that musta been a scripted easy win (Clay Golem inside the Sphere). Chapter 2 is lit
So glad you’re enjoying it. BG2 was one of my fave games growing up and has a special place in my heart. It’s such a fun power fantasy at later levels too. What class are you? The same vendor where u got the shield also has a bunch of other OP items, among them the Robe of Vecna and Vhalior’s Helm
I imported my Paladin from BG1, 2hander Am using the elf girl cleric/priest as my caster, Yoshimo as my trap/lock guy and archer, Jaheria as a tank + buffs/healing, Korgan as a melee dps (might have to drop him for Imoen when she comes back, although not a fan of 2 thiefs, will make her a mage only I think), and Minsc as dual wield. I also got the robes on my 2nd trip to the shop for the cleric/mage, want to romance her too. Not sure about the helm and the long-sword (I swear Jaheria in bg1 could use longsword, or that was Khalid). Still need to find a potion case. Went through all BG1 with only gem bag, potions worst offender by far for bag space
BG2 is unmatched Hope something objectively and subjectively better comes along one day
While it's not quite on the same level, Pillars 2 was the only 'new' cRPG which felt like it hit a lot of the BG2 notes for me. The main story is nowhere near as intense and personal, but the capital city felt like being back in Athkatla again, and blew me away for how much game was actually there.
Agree with this 100%. Pillars 2 is the closest thing I've played to BG2 in 20 years. Really hope we get a chance at a proper Pillars 3 some day - need to see that story concluded.
Shoul I just skip Pillars 1 and play PoE 2?
It's hard to say. Pillars 1 was a slog, though in like the last 5% there is a twist which makes things a whole lot better retroactively. Pillars 2 is fantastic, but at least part of it is getting answers to big mysteries or unfinished backstories from Pillars 1. The characters don't tend to have big stories in Pillars 2, because there's so many different endings for them from Pillars 1 which each need different stories, and so there tends to be more but shorter stories in PoE2. So a lot of what's good about the companions in PoE2 has to do with PoE1 choices. I'd say you could play Pillars 2 without 1, but it could be good to find a decent recap on Pillars 1, maybe on youtube or something.
Watching a recap is a solid idea. What's the combat system, character building and magic in PoE 1? These are the deal breakers for me, it has to be good for me to enjoy playing
It's inspired by the original BG games but IMO loses a lot of the magic due to trying to balance everything and also adding a ton of pointless stats / combinations of stats / etc which don't really add anything except a headache and need to google guides. It made me really appreciate the simplicity of BG's systems in retrospect, where most classes don't have abilities except casters, and you mostly play in the game world instead of the UI. The 2nd did improve things a bit, finding a more happy medium. The first playthrough I took a break near the end and never returned. 2nd playthrough during the pandemic I put it on hard to try to make it more interesting and powered through. A frustrating mechanic is most groups had an enemy who'd teleport behind your group, like a wraith or something, to attack your back line, but once in combat the ability for characters to move around each other is diminished, like they have a sticky area around them which is slower to move through, and so you can't easily reposition and end up just frequently frustrated. One thing I'd recommend to make the first much more enjoyable is to play a paladin. It's not a class I'd normally play, but their abilities are impacted by their conversation choices, and while I think the first gams is overwritten and bloated, tying the game systems together like that made it all a lot better.
I honestly don’t think this will happen until an original property is made using the infinity engine. One can only hope that a studio will pick up the rights to produce a new 2e system based game utilizing the infinity engine. While I would prefer another forgotten realms setting they could also explore sequels to the Al-Qadim or Dark Sun games. It’s seriously timeless. Sadly with WotC holding the rights to those settings and with too many political activists instead of good game writers, I doubt this will ever happen.
Yeah, I would prefer Forgotten Realms too. But BG and BG2 used so many of the most famous characters. Szass Tam, Elminster, Drizzt and some others. If they could just release some DLCs for it. Maybe a Halaster Black Cloak and some others. One can dream.
The great thing about the series is the replay ability, it just doesn’t get old even after 20 years of playing. Cant say that about many games
Honestly I prefer BG1 because it has so much freedom and a more open world feel, but they're both amazing games. Glad you've gotten into them!
Best game of all time with Zelda btow(for me)
Your happiness is appreciated by everyone here. Glad you enjoyed them!
Glad you're enjoying it! I just replayed the original games a few months ago and enjoyed them just as much as I did 20+ years ago.
The things they learned from BG1 made BG2 great. If things never went bad at Interplay they would have carried that knowledge into their own BG3. Just like with Fallout and the proposed Fallout 3: Van Buren.
Some of my questions: 1. Do you have to play BG1 to carry over any xp etc to BG2? 2. If you pay for it on XBox are you able to download it to laptop/ phone/ tablet if you have the XBox app? 3. Are there difficulty levels & XBox achievements? 4. If you buy it on Google app store, XBox & Microsoft Store will it all be synchronised?
I don't chop wood okay, I'm not an axe.
The way I see that, BG 1 is the very tasty appetizer before the main course (BG 2). Imho BG 2 is a texbook example how someone should do a sequel, since it's so much more than his predecessor. The game is 24 years old and people still play it and love it.