I am playing through BG EE for the first time and really enjoying it. I am loosely following a walkthrough. Really just for the first parts until I find my feet as there is quite a steep learning curve. I intend to ditch the walkthrough once I know what I'm doing.

I have just left the Friendly Arm Inn with the two new party members (Jahiera + her partner). The walkthrough I am using says that now is a good time to assemble a strong party by going and seeking out the best characters.

Do you think I should:

1. Ignore this and just play the game as I would if I didn't have a walkthrough. I would probably just carry on and recruit new people as I met them I suppose.

OR

2. Assemble a crack team now as in the long run it would make the game more enjoyable because I am starting from a strong base?

I know it's ultimately whatever I want to do but was curious about what people think about 'playing the game as is and learning from your mistakes' VS 'using knowledge to be the strongest at the start'

Thanks

Why on earth would you want to follow a walkthrough and play somebody else's game? Always remember that this is your first playthrough, and you will never be able to recapture your first experiences. Make them your own. Give yourself the chance to say that 'you' and 'your' party completed the game. You absolutely cannot say that if you follow a walkthrough. Allow yourself to make mistakes and learn by them. You will not get a second chance... ever.

That is a perfectly fair comment and one that I mostly agree with.

However, having never played BG before I had no idea how RPGs really worked and I certainly had no clue about the combat. The walk-through taught me the basics and got me up to speed with how to manage combat and how the different character roles fit into a party.

Perhaps it was incorrect to say I was following a walk-through. Rather, I was using tips and explanations to learn a new system that was unfamiliar to me. I wouldn't use the walk-through to literally tell me where to go or what to expect next as I would rather find that out myself.

That's what the tutorial in the beginning is for. The first time I played, I had no clue. But I wasn't going to spoil my experience by taking somebody else's and adapting them for myself. This was my game, and I was going to play it, mistakes and all, in my own fashion. The beauty of BG is that you can play it again, and again, and again, whether you make mistakes or not. Making mistakes (and getting punished for them) is half of the fun. Never be afraid of that.

I found the tutorial sadly lacking. Any how, everyone's approach to gaming is different I suppose.

Thanks for your comments.

Very true, but you asked for opinions. Whatever your decision, the important thing is to have fun.

Absolutely.

Many thanks.

I guess to decide what you want to do, you really need to decide how you want to play, and what you find fun. Are you the sort of person who instinctively power-games things, working out what your optimal party for this playthrough is and playing that? Or are you more of a roleplayer, and more happy playing with a weaker, but more interesting and consistent, party? Since you mentioned this is your first RPG, you may not have enough experience to be sure, and I'd suggest trying a more roleplaying approach to see what you think of it. BG1 and 2, 2 particularly, are good RPGs for character development and roleplaying.

The game will be easier if you spend time assembling an amazingly efficient group now. Whether you'll find the game more or less enjoyable afterwards rather depends on you as a person, but as I said above, I'd suggest you ignore walkthroughs (unless you actually get stuck somewhere) and roleplay as your character. Besides, the fact that you're worried enough about listening to the walkthrough's advice here suggests that you aren't too much of a powergamer.

Just FYI, BG2 assumes that your character travelled with a specific party. It doesn't make too much difference beyond the beginning of the game, mostly certain characters referring to events which they may not have been present for in your playthrough. However, if you prefer consistency between the games and are willing to accept some restrictions on how you RP your character to get it, you might want to consider selecting these party members. Don't read the bottom of this post if you want to make your own choices of party members without knowing who the "canon party" is. Either way, I wouldn't advise seeking any of them out, at least until you're a couple of chapters beyond where you are now. If you still haven't found one of them by that point, you've probably missed them somehow and I would suggest looking online to find out where they are.
















The canon party is you, Imoen, Jahiera, Khalid, Minsc and Dynaheir

Yeah, definitely ignore that walkthrough. Or ditch it altogether. Or at least don't use a walkthrough that prescribes which party members to use. Baldur's Gate is -not- meant to be played like that. The greatest joy it offers is to be able to just wander around the world doing side-quests or just exploring. Sure, you'll die horribly a bunch of times, but that's part of the experience. Go someplace else and come back later with the Sword of +2 Buttkicking and take horrible revenge.

Anyway, Baldur's Gate has -lots- of party members who can join you, and which ones you should use really depends on your playing style, the class of your main character, and which characters appeal to you. True, characters in BG1 don't have much in the way of a personal story, but still. A walkthrough may tell you to use Minsc, but why would you if his voice annoys you? There are a half dozen equally good fighters in the game anyway. It won't -really- matter if one of them has another +2 damage over the one you want to use.

The only important thing is to have a balanced party, i.e. one with at least 2 fighters, a rogue to disarm traps, a cleric/druid for healing, and a wizard for heavy firepower. (Not necessary in the first few chapters, but very useful later.) So if you really can't find a wizard by chapter 4, you could consider looking in a walkthrough to find one. But really, that shouldn't be necessary. The game is set up so that you'll meet at least some characters of every class by following the main plot-line. (For example, between them the two guys you met on the road outside Candlekeep and Khalid and Jaheira make up a whole balanced party already, though you may not want to use those first two guys since they are A] annoying and B] scum. YMMV, of course.)

Incidentally, if you do decide to use a walkthrough I recommend the one by Dan Simpson on Gamefaqs. It's incredibly in-depth, and helpfully arranged so you can look up just specific parts without spoiling too much. As long as you can avoid the temptation to read further, that is.

Baldur's Gate is one of the best games ever, and well worth a little bit of try and fail experiment.

Other points worth to mention are that (unless you cheat through mods or use other cheesy tactics)

- some characters hate each others and will refuse to work together.

- some characters come in pairs and can't be separated.

- good characters will refuse to follow you if your reputation drops too low, while evil characters will refuse if your reputation is too high.

- some characters have a timed quest linked to them, and will leave if you don't fulfill it in time. They'll always give you a warning through dialogue, so listen to them.

Some random strategic tips :

- scout using a thief hidden in shadows (and/or use the invisibility spell when you get it), so you know what to expect. One you know where the enemies are (but they don't see you yet), use spells with area of effect and throw them just outside the enemies' line of sight.

- protect your spellcasters using melee combattants as bodyguards. It's better to have a single well-protected spellcaster than 3 or 4 who can't cast anything because they're being harassed. It's especially true in BG1, where magic users are too weak due to low level.

- Dexterity is über-important for melee fighters, since armor class depends on it. Actually, dexterity is important for everyone.

- By the way don't forget that with Thac0 (ie : chance to it with weapons) and AC (armor class), lower is better. So, for example, a + 2 sword will actually lower your Thac0 on the character sheet. Same with armor. It can be confusing at first.

- ranged attacks (especially bows) are overpowered in the game. Buying/finding items to protect your characters from them should be a priority. Incidentally, the game becomes too easy with Kivan in the party. He'll just kill things before you notice them, so it's better not to tag that character along.

Ditch the walkthrough. Play the game. It's your game. Play it your way. Win. Lose. Make mistakes. Beat and be beaten. Suck. Get good. Be awesome. Have fun. If you rely on a walkthrough you can't say you did any of that yourself.

That having been said. After Friendly Arm, if you follow your quest south you'll encounter Minsc. Get him. His joining you is dependent on a timed quest that you must complete or he ditches you. It shouldn't take long and you've got plenty of time to do it if you stick to it. You'll end up with a mage. She's a good mage who comes paired with Minsc. If one leaves the other follows (there are tricks to circumventing this). Both will serve you through the game.

Trick is to have a balanced party. I assume you have Imoen with you. You want her. There's your thief. She'll follow you to the end. Thieves and healers are mandatory. Jahira will do for now as a healer, but if find her unremarkable in BG1 and she comes paired with Kahlid and he's a weak ass fighter. There's an opportunity to acquire a cleric at this point but she is unremarkable as well but better than Jahira imo. Better yet she comes alone and doesn't occupy another space in the party. There's a much better cleric much later and he's easy to miss. BG1 has scant offerings for healers for good aligned groups.

Another thing to consider is alignment. Companions with opposing alignments won't get along and duels to the death can break out. Some companions will leave if your reputation reaches a certain threshold or may refuse to join outright.

One thing to know for good aligned groups is to get Coran as soon as you encounter him. He is hands down the best companion in the game. He's actually so OP he breaks the rules. Kivan is another solid choice. Coran also joins for good after completing a timed quest. It's a short if challenging jont that doesn't take much time.

Remember to have at least one thief. One or two healers. At least two front line melee fighters. Mages are optional, IMO. They're not strong enough in BG1 to be effective. And archers rule BG1.

One word on mages in BG1: Haste. (It works like Improved Haste does in BG2, but on the whole party.)

You -can- compensate with oils of speed instead, but those are in limited supply. Generally, having 1 out of 6 guys be a mage is a great investment. A single Confusion spell can easily disable 2-4 out of a 6 strong enemy party. Even a simple Horror spell can swing the balance. And early on Sleep rules the roost.

Of course, a party with 2-3 archers kills everything, so you can indeed do without mages. But frankly? They're the most fun and varied characters to use, regardless.

Also, I wouldn't be too quick to dismiss the weaker party members. Sure, Khalid starts out doing less damage than Minsc, but get him the right equipment and enough levels to really boost his weapon specialisation, and he'll definitely come into his own. Or just cast Strength on him. (level 2 spell) But even without tricks like that most 'weaker' party members do well enough to get you through the game.

Wait, disclaimer time. Did the EE change any of this? If it uses BG2 style haste and BG2 style weapon specialisation, much of the above becomes moot.

The EE, just like TuTu, OP'd everything. It's all moot. Having said that, Haste is only for people who don't mind continually having to sleep to remove fatigue. I make it a point (BG1 and BG2) never to use haste in general, only for very special occasions. There's nothing worse in these games than sleep, fight, sleep, fight, sleep, fight, sleep...

Many thanks for all the excellent comments. I have taken them all on board. I am very happy to ditch the walkthrough and go for a more roleplay approach.

All your comments were very useful. Thanks for your time.