Man, I feel your struggle so much. I adore Baldur's Gade and like Mass Effect very much, so by all accounts I should be all over DA:O, but it just doesn't click with me. I like the characters, I like the story, the combat system is kinda fun (heck, I finished Chronicles of the Darkspawn, which is nothing but combat), but for some unfathomable reason I just can't seem to finish the bugger. I only got as far as recruiting the bisexual elf assassin.
Anyway thank you for this thread and thanks everyone for their hints. Might try some of them.
Just to check, did you recruit the bisexual elf assassin before or after the dignified Circle mage? Because boy oh boy does Wynne makes everything easier. Heal, resurrection, ally support, cc, and more, depending on your tactic. She's a pretty good trump card to have. (Besides, she's delightful.)
Good luck!
(Also, re: Baldur's Gate. I've been tempted to buy it for ages now. Should I? I'm interested in hearing your thoughts on it, as I live in a non English-speaking country and didn't grow up with it at all... What does it play like? And, most importantly, what do you like in it? Sorry if it derails the topic, I'll edit if OP has a problem with that. Thanks.)
On the bright side for any faults the sequel games might have (and boy could I go on about them), if the combat in DA:O isn't to your tastes, you might prefer the combat of the sequels a lot more and it might actually redeem DA2 in your eyes.
Otherwise tbh I'd just get cheat engine and use mods to make your character uber OP.
I mean you're not enjoying the combat and want to skip it right? Then use cheats and play it your way.
If you're too good for that then easiest class to break the game with would be Arcane Warrior for a mage but besides that you need a bit of foreknowledge to unlock it, it's also the most boring class to play "normally" without cheats since on one hand you're practically unkillable, on the other combat becomes a slog even for those who actually do enjoy the combat.
Maraskeen said:
(Also, re: Baldur's Gate. I've been tempted to buy it for ages now. Should I? I'm interested in hearing your thoughts on it, as I live in a non English-speaking country and didn't grow up with it at all... What does it play like? And, most importantly, what do you like in it? Sorry if it derails the topic, I'll edit if OP has a problem with that. Thanks.)
I know this wasn't addressed at me but I hope you don't mind if I answer that aswell.
Hum weird, Baldur Gate is one of the games that was a smash pretty much everywhere at the time, where are you from... Ah d'accord t'est Francaise Je n'habitais pas en France a l'epoque donc j'ai aucune idee comment le jeu a ete recu la bas.
Anyways if you like RPGS and aren't scared off by older graphics, Baldur Gate series holds up incredibly well. The second much more so then the first, and tbh the first game is a bit rough to get going and can be frustrating if you don't know what you are doing, the first monsters you meet can easily cause a party wipe since you start off so friggin weak. Imo the scope of BG1 also feels kinda small compared to BG2.
I'd actually recommend starting off with Baldurs Gate 2 because the story in BG1 isn't so complex that it can't be summed up in a few sentences (
you are descendant of an ancient god who sired multiple children called a Bhaal Spawn, you of course don't learn this until after your adoptive father figure gets killed and starts you on a quest to defeat a rising evil, who as it turns out is also a Bhaal Spawn so sort of your half brother. Together with your adoptive sister you beat him and defeat his evil machinations, and the 2nd game starts not long after that
)
Second game has you starting out in a prison after you've been subjected to experiments that messed with your brainz so it's perfectly RP to start in that game with little knowledge of previous one and having other npcs explain to you what happened. Oh also worth noting is you don't start as a lvl1 in BG2 but with a few levels since you don't really get a "power reset" in between the games and if you play BG1 you can import your character into the sequel as they were.
It plays as an overhead view rts kinda game control wise and combat is in real time but simulates turn by turn action and you are expected to pause multiple times in combat to coordinate your characters. Tbh it's a lot like Dragon Age Origins really, hence why that game was seen as a spiritual successor to BG 1/2.
The game is based on D n D rule set and tries its best to simulate it as best as possible, depending on your familiarity with D n D and your tolerance for it, this is either a good or bad thing or you're just indifferent.
The strength of this game is that RP wise there is a fair amount of flexibility especially when compared to later bioware games and there is a lot of stuff to explore.
You might also enjoy the combat depending on your preferences and how much you like mages (mages are very powerful in this game).
There are also tons of great mods for the game including ones released by the devs.
You control a sizeable party of up to 5 npcs+ your pc, and it's very possible you can have party members who hate each other to the point that they go ahead and fight to the death. Just as you can tell every recruitable npc to go screw themselves and solo the game.
I outright HATED DAO's combat system whilst really liking the story so I feel your pain. (It was significantly improved by DA2 in my eyes, with a much cleaner, "fairer" and more accessible combat system that was much more fun. But that came with its own unique combat problem of waves of enemies which is...eh.)
Unfortunately the only thing I can recommend is doing the opposite of what I did: do NOT go for a purely elemental mage build. In my own experience as someone in a similar position to you doing that leaves you squishy as all hell and I found it meant either I won a fight almost instantly or my entire party wiped almost instantly. Every single fight. I DID complete the whole game as an entirely elemental-focussed mage with throwaway specialisations (i.e. not Blood Magic or Arcane Warrior) but it was a terrible chore and felt heavily luck based (i.e. will my enemy freeze or will I die first?).
A couple of things I read years ago when I played it seemed to imply that basically if you go Arcane Warrior/Blood Mage specialisation then you basically win the game. Essentially what RJ 17 said is what I've read basically everywhere to be the most hillariously OP thing to do in it; if you're looking to blast through it that is probably your best option (though I never tried it myself).
Oh and the bit you described is the Fade which is almost universally the one part of the game everyone agrees is awful and silly. So you're definitely not the only one.
To be honest though, I really don't see the point in trudging through it if you don't like the gameplay? I love both ME and DA to bits; but it's really not the same feel as Mass Effect. The rhythm is definitely slower -in my opinion at least- and even with a 'game-breaking' build it's not a small game. That, being said, it's your business, but I'm curious about your reasons.
(and what are you talking about people I found the Fade quest really enjoyable- gimmicky, but enjoyable... visit all the rooms! collect all the forms! grab all the status buffs!
I mean dude you can walk through fire and punch the lights out of renegade mages as a golem... what else do you need? Kids these days, I swear. )
Well, I played Dragon Age 2 when it came out, loved it (even with the problems). When Dragon Age Inquisition was released, I had hoped to start from Origins and work my way through with my various characters and decisions.
And I was doing okay, but there is this bit where you end up seperated from your party (it's been a VERY long time since I played, so that may be wrong) and I just couldn't do anything. Couldn't grind up, couldn't leave and come back, couldn't advance. So I just didn't return.
My plan this time is to make sure the combat can be done regardless, and enjoy the atmosphere and story.
Just to check, did you recruit the bisexual elf assassin before or after the dignified Circle mage? Because boy oh boy does Wynne makes everything easier. Heal, resurrection, ally support, cc, and more, depending on your tactic. She's a pretty good trump card to have. (Besides, she's delightful.)
Good luck!
(Also, re: Baldur's Gate. I've been tempted to buy it for ages now. Should I? I'm interested in hearing your thoughts on it, as I live in a non English-speaking country and didn't grow up with it at all... What does it play like? And, most importantly, what do you like in it? Sorry if it derails the topic, I'll edit if OP has a problem with that. Thanks.)
I tried several routes, so I had Wynne in my party but I think it was a different attempt then the one with Zhevran recruited. Tanks for the tip.
As for BG, Frankster summed it up quite well. BG1 can be quite hardcore and I strongly advise you to buy BG:EE by BeamDog. In the original version the journal is a mess to such an extent you might be better of writing your own quest log. Also don't try to fight bears head on. The true charm of Baldur's Gate (as with most Bioware games) lies in the NPCs. There are many fun party members you can recruit and that keeps me going back to the series over and over. I would advise playing as a front line character, because there are many powerful mages (in the second game one NPC mage is even more powerful than the PC can be). Fighter, paladin, cleric, ranger or thief (either multi-class with fighter or swashbuckler kit from EE) are good starter choices.
There's no pure thief in BG2, your thief from BG1 turns into a mage and the other thief is mage multiclass. He's fun at first, but after repeated playthroughs he's getting on my nerves. To not need him you need to be a thief yourself or use Shadowkeeper.
Anyway I'm sure you'll find some character you adore in the series, be it the beautiful Drow, the doomsaying Elf, the Red Wizard or everyone's favourite hamster with a ranger attached.
So yes, I would recommend it. I believe you can find EE versions on both Steam and GoG, so you might even catch some nifty sale.
Edit: also - Magic Missile! Before I realised how awesome this 1st lvl spell is I already finished the game twice Magic Missile and Chromatic Orb are your friends. My grasp of the rules was quite weak so I didn't really understand the description.
I outright HATED DAO's combat system whilst really liking the story so I feel your pain. (It was significantly improved by DA2 in my eyes, with a much cleaner, "fairer" and more accessible combat system that was much more fun. But that came with its own unique combat problem of waves of enemies which is...eh.)
While the combat in DAII certainly looks better, it is the same system as in Origins. I first played DAII on the PC and it was immediate recognition.
A good tip for playing Origins is to make sure in each characters tactics they have use a health potion at the top. This will ensure that when they reach the health level you set, they'll use a potion before doing anything else. I have them set to use one on reaching 50%, any lower and they tend to die before getting a chance to drink it.
I outright HATED DAO's combat system whilst really liking the story so I feel your pain. (It was significantly improved by DA2 in my eyes, with a much cleaner, "fairer" and more accessible combat system that was much more fun. But that came with its own unique combat problem of waves of enemies which is...eh.)
It really doesn't play the same at all honestly, for all its similarities. If nothing else DAO absolutely 100% required micromanagement on your entire party every moment of the game. For DA2 literally the only time I ever needed a large degree of micromanagement of everyone individually was the final battle of the Legacy DLC (and that thing was bloody stupid to be honest).
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Je n'habitais pas en France a l'epoque donc j'ai aucune idee comment le jeu a ete recu la bas.
