[I was just going to leave it at that, but then Discourse says that posts can’t be empty. So I added this. But really, the post still is empty, isn’t it? Aren’t we all just staring into the abyss?]
The real issue is that lower AC is better. If higher AC was better, as it is in D&D 3E and beyond, you don’t need a THAC0. The number you need to roll is the AC.
So why are lower ACs considered better? Found this on Reddit.
Now I want to know if Destroyers got DEX bonuses.
Nothing in the game (BG or KotOR) tells you how long the round is but you’re told how many attacks per round you do.
Nothing in the game tells you that all rolls are d20.
The result is that even if you get that there’s d20 happening in the background you’ll see that you miss twice as often as you should. Or when you get addditional attacks per round you see no difference.
Thanks for sending me down this path. Looks like fake attacks are pretty easy to disable in the EE.
Ok I started this when it was released way back when. I bought the EE on Steam and started. Now this thread has me starting again. I always escape the dungeon and peter out in the city, we are talking double digits amount of times. I got out of the dungeon last night and now will start exploring the city.
THIS TIME I WILL STICK WITH IT. (wish me luck, gulp)
Only go into houses with pins on the map. The rest are just scenery.
This is me. I bought this first in 1999 or 2000 and have never gotten beyond Chapter 2. I’m determined to keep going this time.
I posted the other day here that I suck at combat (which is true) but now I realize the battle that stymied me is on the main plotline and my repeated failure is probably a signal that I need to do more side quests. Which is often my problem – I’m always in a hurry to move the plot along. I think the point of the breadth of Chapter 2 is that you should take your time.
Some quick tips for BG2 combat:
-Two mages in the party is so much better than one! That’s why I had three. (Jan counts right?)
-Cast Greater Malison then cast Chaos into a group of enemies
Result: -8 saving throw penalty on everyone versus running around like idiots. Easy to land on a lot of enemies.
-Use Wizards Eye + Summons to scout ahead of your party with your summons. (Summons don’t give you line of sight and become uncontrollable once they leave your parties LoS) Allows you to cast nuke and control spells from a safe distance!
-You actually need to mind wizard magical protections and use the appropriate removal spells in order. It is generally a two step process. Casting Breach at a wizard with Spell Turning will send the Breach back at YOU! Also if they have Spell Shield it will straight up absorb it. Spell Deflection and Spell Immunity also stops it.
-You should cast Secret Word FIRST for each of these types of protections if they have any THEN casting Breach will strip off all the rest of their combat protections: Immunity to Magic weapons, Stone Skin, Spirit Armor, etc…(you won’t get a better version of Secret Word until you get access to level 7 spells. Pierce Magic is better for lowering magic resistance since it only affects 6th level or lower. Spell Thrust only affects 5th level or lower. Secret Word affects 8th level spells)
-Remove Magic wipes potion buffs, items buffs, and some spells but it only works based on the spell level of the caster. Basically useless for duel/multi-classes.
-Use Melf’s Minute Meteors. 5 Attacks per round! Ignores magic resistance. Does piercing and fire damage. Super good.
-Mislead is basically permanent invisibility even while attacking as long as your clone is active. It is very powerful.
Don’t need to do that dungeon again.
Great tips, though, I’ve always considered mages to be nearly useless.
Everything gets a save, and against anything that counts, it’s gonna save. So why bother?
Just cast Haste + Improved Invis on my fighters and try to die while they do all the work. And against an enemy mage, just chain cast Breach until my fighters can hit him.
Probably not ideal, but it works.
This is opposite of true. You can lower the magical resistances and saves of a dragon enough to polymorph them into a squirrel.
Imagine this:
As a Wizard I can cast Project Image, which is a 100% copy of my wizard with all of its spells, item powers, consumables…have the Projected Image cast Simulacrum which makes a copy of itself at 60% power…walk both of them into a group of enemies, have both cast Mislead so that the Projected Image and Simulacrum go invisible with a decoy…at this point the enemies are attacking the decoys of Projected Imagine and Simulacrum so they can freely cast spells unhindered…time stop, dragons breath, comet, summon 5 Mordenkainen’s Swords which are 4+ swords that are immune to nearly everything…destroy everything.
Then I can do it all over again because I just used ONE spell. ONE.SPELL.
Wizards are the most powerful class in the game by far.
IIRC that is a major difference between BG1 and BG2. The mages in 2 are more powerful and use more protective spells, plus they will re-install them during a fight, so you need to be ready for that. Having a couple mages and gathering the re-chargable spell wands is a big thig in BG2.
Haste can be a very helpful spell however. Those and the Potions of Speed.
Yeah, I always cast haste (and Improved Haste when I get it). I also cast Slow on the enemies. Mages should always have Stone Skin, Spirit Armor, and Protection from Fire (most common elemental damage) on at all times. I also use Spell Immunity a lot for specific encounters. Protection from Magical Energy is also very good.
That’s an awful lot of work. I imagine you’d only do that on a handful of fights. You also need to be very high level for time stop, etc.
I’d rather just buff up my fighters and send them in.
I don’t actually do that because I’d rather use my whole party.
A wizard can become a better fighter than an actual fighter…there’s a spell for that, but why would I do that? Because being a fighter and losing access to all your spells, albeit temporarily, is a major down grade.
I’d rather just summon some nigh-indestructible +4 swords if I need more melee muscle. Fighters can get hurt and die, but these swords are completely immune to all physical and elemental damage!
TIL some people apparently rest before every encounter. I certainly hope that a ninth level spell owns most normal encounters that don’t have any counters to illusions or other typical magery ;)
The thing is, properly equipped and managed fighters murder most things with neither fuss nor muss. Throw in a thief that gets to gib whatever the scariest thing is before it gets to do anything and an Inquisitor who personally negates all illusions and other typical magery, and you’re really in business.
There are many roads to murder for the Bhaalspawn, is what I’m saying. Luckily, many of them do not require Jan.
There isn’t a need to rest so much. The biggest reason to rest is usually to swap spells in and out. Especially after acquiring new spells.
And there are spells that renew your spells without resting, although I think they are limited in use, IIRC.
Limited Wish and Wish can restore spells. In the case of Wish, it can give the party a full rest (refreshing everything) Also wild surges as a Wild Mage can refresh the mage. Great when it happens but you can’t really rely on it.
One thing with haste though is it fatigues your party, which is why Improved haste is superior.
Thank you for this. Very helpful!