New to this kind of game

[dr_jo]

Hi. I'm pretty new to computer games, having been intorduced to them by my boyfriend. He's leant me Baldur's Gate 1 (and Tales of the Sword Coast), and I'm really enjoying it.
But I'm struggling. I've never played this kind of game before, so I'm pretty clueless. I'm really struggling with combat, and that means I'm not getting anywhere.

Could anyone give me any tips, or hints to help me get started please?

Thanks, dr_jo

 

[Louster]

Uhhm yeah I remember this game being fairly overwhelming to begin with. Most of the stuff is pretty intuitive though, and the manual is pretty comprehensive. What specifically are you having problems with? I guess one thing to note is that you generally need a balanced team, with some fighters, a thief, casters, healers and whatnot. The game's relatively forgiving though, and it definitely has enough replayability (what with all the tons of sidequests) that you could play through once, or get pretty far, and start over with the knowledge you've gained without suffering too much from boredom.

 

[Louster]

Oh yeah. Don't be afraid to use the "rest" button pretty often. At the beginning of BG1, and most of the way through it in fact, your characters won't be able to cast many spells before they need to re-memorise them, and you generally don't lose anything by resting.

 

[dr_jo]

Thank you for the tips. An example of my problem... Quite early on, a woman asks you to go to her house, and rid it of spiders. I had a party of 6, a couple of fighters, a couple who could cast spells. And the best I managed was to come out with 4 members still alive.
How do I go about healing someone who's been poisoned? And do you have any tips for the general fighting bits? I'm used to real time strategy games like Age of Empires, so I'm kinda lost.

Thanks

 

[Louster]

Ah, I think I know of that quest. If that's the one I'm thinking of, and my memory is pretty shabby, and it's the quest that's given by the woman in the, uh, Friendly Arms Inn, I think it's called, and the house is in a village a little to the south, with a name that I forget, then yeah. That specific quest is rather too tough for the time that you get it, and I had similar problems. Usually I just ignore it and come back later. Also, at that point in the game I don't think there's any easy way of curing poison. There are spells which do this, but they're all higher level, and there are curative potions you can buy also, but they're rather expensive.

Really, if you managed to kill the spiders and get out with 4 people alive, it sounds like you're doing pretty well.

 

[Custodian]

I remember that house well. She wants the boots and wine and stuff, and the body of a dead spider to prove you cleared it.

As Louster says, there are potions that cure poison. You can buy them from the church place in Friendly Arm if you have the money. There are also Slow Poison spells/abilities that your characters might have (don't think remove poison is available till higher level). If you are fighting poisonous creatures it is pretty much a must that you have a few of either I would suggest.

If you are struggling with battles and don't like people being dead then save the game before you walk in the door. There is some luck in the game so you might win next time, plus it gives you the chance to reload and try a different tactic if you lose.

IIRC, when I did this with low level characters I used an entangle (or summat like that) spell to stick the spiders down for while, which meant I did not have so many biting me at once and some could be killed from a safe distance

 

[dr_jo]

Thanks for the tips.
I think I might just avoid the house until I'm a bit stronger. One question - does entangle work indoors? The description I had of it was that it called on plants to grab hold of the enemy, so I assumed it could only be used outside.

Also, do you have any advice for how to start out the game, i.e. which race and/or "career" to choose? I'm sure they all have benefits, I'm just looking for a character which won't be terrible at anything, even if they don't exceed in anything either.

 

[Custodian]

Entangle works indoors. Any spell that does not, like the lightning strike one that I really love, specifically says so.
Course... it works on your own folk as well if they are too close


I think the first time I played it I used a fighter/thief character with some elven blood and was quite happy with the combination of sneaking and bashing. You will meet NPCs with all the magic and special skills anyway, like Imoen being a thief, and that Druid bird and her partner the Fighter bloke (damned if I can remember their names) in Friendly arm. There are plenty more to meet as well, some good some evil. Depends how you wanna play which ones you keep. I was always a good guy of course Long as you have a good mix, e.g. not all fighters, and at least 1 or 2 that can heal you (druids or clerics) then you should do fine.

General tip... once you have magic don't be afraid to use it ! Use defensive stuff as well as offensive. It can make the difference between your fighters winning and losing.

 

[The Kingpin]

Ah BG2..

Use the auto-pause alot, also use pause so you can plan your next move.

Just a little tip for fighting Mages, look up the level 5 mage spell Breach, its great

 

[Custodian]

Originally posted by The Kingpin
Ah BG2..

/me fwaps The Kingpin with his box of BG disks

This is about the original not BG2

Using the pause a lot is a good tip though. Used to have my hand hovering over that spacebar allmost permanently