So, at the time this game was released my home lacked a computer but I still spent my entire allowance on gaming magazines.
However. I've always wanted to play this game, and I made a half-hearted attempt at doing so a couple of years ago but that didn't go anywhere.
So, is it to late for me or should I give it a try? If so, should I play it modded, which version etc?
Baldur's Gate
Game » consists of 8 releases. Released Dec 21, 1998
Bioware's first RPG, you must assemble a party of adventurers and investigate the mystery of the iron crisis and a darker threat that looms in the city of Baldur's Gate.
Haven't played this game. What to do?
Download the game's PDF manual here. I played the game a long time ago without knowing what THAC0, lore, or "1d4" meant, but I enjoyed the series so much more once I figured them all out.
This game is extremely hard, even on the default difficulty. If you go to a difficult place too early on, you'll die. You will die several times on about 60% of your fights in this game. The 'q' button (quicksave) is your best friend. If you've never played a game like this before, I recommend starting as a Fighter. You will get a good Thief very early on, and there are several Mages at your disposal later.
I have fond memories of BG1 in its original form. I've heard great things about a new way to play through the game using the BG2 engine, but I can't speak to that personally. Of course, if you don't have BG2 that's not an option for you.
I'd also recommend going the fighter route to start. Magic users will get absolutely trounced in the early parts of the game--it's much different in BG2 since you start at a higher level, so magic users are more feasible. Like the above poster says, the game is HARD. It's noticeably less so in the early parts (I'd say up through Nashkel) but there are a few significant difficulty spikes in individual fights during that part of the game, so be warned. Generally, don't explore too much until you've got a few levels and some ok gear. That'll make it less likely for you to be ripped apart by hobgoblins or knolls as you get used to the game.
" too late no hope "I wouldn't say that. Baldur's Gate is an excellent game. It just hasn't aged as well as its sequel. Also, it's pretty goddamn hard.
@brandt: If you are going to play it, I suggest getting a copy of Baldur's Gate II as well so you can install Baldur's Gate Tutu, which is a mod that allows you to play the game in the BG2 version of the engine, which tweaks the gameplay to be a little more tolerable and allows you to play in higher resolutions (consequently, I also recommend a widescreen mod.) Either way, you should get BG2 as it is awesome and totally worth playing.
And btw, even if I find BG1 to be unplayable, could I play 2 on it's own?
Here's a modding guide I found quite helpful.
One other thing, in 2ed AD&D missile weapons are really powerful. Bows get 2 attacks per round from the beginning and even other missile weapons can attack from a distance, very important and useful to disrupt enemy spell casters. In general you want to engage melee fighters with missile weapons until they are upon you and you want to rush enemey missile users, especially ones with bows.
One other quick tip, summoning spells (animate dead, animal summoning, monster summoning, etc) are really useful. You'll often find yourself outnumbered and getting attacked from all sides so a bunch of extra fodder to rush enemies and to sponge off damage works really well.
" @ArbitraryWater: And btw, even if I find BG1 to be unplayable, could I play 2 on it's own? "Certainly. You might have trouble getting through the initial dungeon and you might require a plot summary of the first game, but BG2 itself is significantly easier to start with because your characters are all at a high level and don't die in one hit like the first game. Plus the quests are all pretty centralized, so you don't have to wander around looking for them.
Play it - get the Tales of the Sword coast - play that and keep your character to play BG 2 and Throne of Bhaal...
When you are rolling your character do not settle for less than a Dexterity 18 Strength 18 roll, as the other guys said go with a fighter or fighter cleric. If you go cleric keep some points for wisdom otherwise max out constitution. Save, save, save. You will die a lot in this game as it starts you as a level 1 and a sewer rat can kill you with one hit. Worth the effor thtough - brilliant story.
Please Log In to post.
This edit will also create new pages on Giant Bomb for:
Beware, you are proposing to add brand new pages to the wiki along with your edits. Make sure this is what you intended. This will likely increase the time it takes for your changes to go live.Comment and Save
Until you earn 1000 points all your submissions need to be vetted by other Giant Bomb users. This process takes no more than a few hours and we'll send you an email once approved.
Log in to comment