Together Retro: Baldur's Gate

[noiseredux]

How many chapters typically before hit level 2? I'm fucking around in the mines regularly getting killed.

you've been playing this game for several hours and aren't lvl 2 yet?

This game keeps sounding more and more enticing.

[MrPopo]

You can make it to chapter 2 and the mines while only running into one or two random encounters. You want to wander around and do some side quests first to get a couple of levels. Hell, even just wandering a bit and doing some random encounters will be good for you. Getting to chapter 3 and onward requires you to defeat some major encounter each, it's just the 1->2 transition that can be done in a trivial amount of time.

Icewind Dale has a similar thing. You can go from Chapter 5 to Chapter 6 by doing a couple of minor encounters and skipping all of Chapter 5. The intro to Chapter 6 then references stuff you were supposed to do in Chapter 5, and you have to do that to finish 6 (there's an item you need to pick up to unlock the boss door).

[dsheinem]

You can make it to chapter 2 and the mines while only running into one or two random encounters. You want to wander around and do some side quests first to get a couple of levels. Hell, even just wandering a bit and doing some random encounters will be good for you. Getting to chapter 3 and onward requires you to defeat some major encounter each, it's just the 1->2 transition that can be done in a trivial amount of time.

Ok, I'll see how far I can go into the mines before getting too beat up, maybe I'll hit a reasonable level along the way. Any general strategy for what level one should shoot for before entering each chapter of the game? E.g. Chapter 2: Level 2, Chapter 3: Level 4, etc...

[CFFJR]

I'm gonna grab the enhanced edition for pc soon, maybe today.

I'm excited to get started on this. I'm a recent recruit to the actual game of D&D, and naturally its been making me itch to play the video games based on it (I just got the Sega CD version of Eye of the Beholder the other day). I've skipped them all over the years, including Baldur's Gate obviously, and its time to fix that.

Looking forward to it!

[BogusMeatFactory]

Just finished up my stream. Had one character hit level 2 and was just trying to competently stay alive, which was a hard enough task as it is. Lots of reloading and struggling, but I did manage to do pretty well..just doing sidequests in Beregost right now...haven't even hit the mines. My only gripe is character movement and scrolling. It is sooooo slow!

[Zing]

ah, New Year's Day... hmmm should I spend $10 to download a PC WRPG that I'm being told is slow to start and too long to complete in a month, or should I play my new DC copy of Shikigami No Shiro 2 instead?

No idea who is feeding you these lies. I think I had the game completed twice within the first month I bought it back when it was first released. Slow start? You do some talking in the first town then you are literally locked out in the wilderness where the game is open for exploration.

[noiseredux]

ah, New Year's Day... hmmm should I spend $10 to download a PC WRPG that I'm being told is slow to start and too long to complete in a month, or should I play my new DC copy of Shikigami No Shiro 2 instead?

No idea who is feeding you these lies. I think I had the game completed twice within the first month I bought it back when it was first released. Slow start? You do some talking in the first town then you are literally locked out in the wilderness where the game is open for exploration.

I started playing this a bit last month (I am in chapter 2 currently) and must say that I feel like it has a fairly steep learning curve and starts slow -

[Zing]

It's an AD&D 2nd edition game. You will end the game at level 6-7, so in that regard it is slower than modern games which throw levels at you.

[Violent By Design]

How many chapters typically before hit level 2? I'm fucking around in the mines regularly getting killed.

you've been playing this game for several hours and aren't lvl 2 yet?

This game keeps sounding more and more enticing.

You don't exactly have to know a lot about to game to be able to tell that the game isn't about leveling up a million times.

[Nemoide]

I started this game a little while back because I know I'm not going to be able to finish it in one month. I've owned it since I was in high school (early 2000s) and am playing the original release. It came with a bunch of cool things, like a cardboard booklet/case thing for all the discs (with room for the Tales of the Sword Coast expansion, which I also have), a map of Baldur's Gate with the Sword Coast on the other side, a seriously hefty manual featuring "Volo's Guide to Baldur's Gate" with margin notes by Elminster (famous Forgotten Realms character). I have a widescreen monitor though, so when I play, I lower the resolution and play in a window... it's kind of lame, but it works. I refuse to re-buy a game that has been sitting in my backlog for over a decade.

For a time in my life, I was pretty into Forgotten Realms. I have a ton of the D&D supplements and have read maybe about 15 of the novels. Oddly enough it's not a setting I feel a strong connection to. I mostly like just how well-developed it is. The massive wealth of material is kind of awe-inspiring.

I'm *just* at the start of Chapter 3. I did some side-quests in the first chapter, but didn't do much optional stuff in chapter 2 and forgot that you can hit the third one in no-time flat.
My character is a human Paladin. I like being Lawful Good and being able to fight AND heal.

Even though I've owned this game for years, I've never made it too far. I'm not a huge fan of how non-linear it can be - I generally don't know if I'm doing something I *should* be doing. I wanted to get to Baldur's Gate and find out about my character's story but I remember getting frustrated by having to go around and fight bandits for what seemed like too long a time.
But this time, I'm feeling it! I WILL BEAT THIS GAME!