Question about Baldur's Gate et al

[Wraithsight]

So I wanna pick up Baldur's Gate 1 + 2, but I was hoping someone could answer something for me:

-Is the enchanced edition 1 + 2 or just 1? I think I know the answer but just making sure.

-If no, does it feature that thing where you can carry over your save data? Can I port a save between Enhanced and a GoG bought one?

-Any pointers for a mage? Played PS:T so Iv got the basics but any tips?

 

[The Madman]

-The Enhanced Edition has only been released for the first game so far, I have no clue when they intend to release 2 as they haven't even announced a release date yet or whether one is coming or not.

-I don't own the Enhanced Edition, but I imagine so as it's still the same engine and the same import/export mechanic.

-I wouldn't recommend playing a mage if it's your first playthrough. Planescape: Torment can be completed with a minimum of combat, especially in the early areas. Baldur's Gate cannot. You start out as a level 1 weakling in BG and a level 1 mage is about as useless as humanly possible, and while it's true they eventually become all but godlike getting that point if you've never played BG before will require extreme patience.

If you absolutely must play as a mage for low levels there's two spells you must have: Sleep and Magic Missile. These will save your life. You wont be casting either much however so make sure you've got a sling or some other ranged weapon so your low level mage can at least 'try' to contribute.

 

[Rack]

The enhanced edition is just BG1, if you have the time I recommend looking up BG TuTu and at least installing the banter mods. That makes BG1 way better than the "enhanced edition"

To play a Wizard in many ways you're best off playing the entirety of BG1 as a Fighter then dual classing into a wizard just before the end of BG2s first dungeon (or a bit later at level 9/level 13). This adds a lot of durability at very little cost and it also measn you won't be playing as a level 1 wizard for any appreciable length of time.

The downside is it requires some pretty damned amazing stats to pull off. You'll need strength 15 and Intelligence 17. I'd also recommend Dexterity at least 18 and Constitution 16 (ideally 18) to get the most out of it. That's probably going to involve a couple of minutes re-rolling your character and could easily be considered cheating.

If you have a pure wizard then at level 1 you get all of 1 spell a day and that doesn't increase particularly quickly. A few of the spells are insanely useful early on. Sleep and Charm Person are pretty much your only options at the start, sleep disabling a large group of weak (under level 4 so pretty much anything at the start of the game) enemies, and Charm Person giving you control of one human enemy for a truly comic amount of time. Once you hit third level you can cast Web which is extremely effective in conjuntion with archers.

On that subject get your wizard a sling or some darts, he won't do a lot with them, but it will make him slightly less brittle in the early game.

Edit: While I was posting this The Madman recommended Magic Missile. Magic Missile increases with level to become a fairly respectable spell later on. At level 1 though it's a joke and not a particularly good one. I wouldn't even consider it until you hit level 5.

 

[Jandau]

Honestly, I wouldn't recommend the Enhanced Edition. You'd be better off getting the regular versions and modding them (if you have the basic savvy needed for that) to high rez. Heck, you could even use a mod that transfers BG1 into BG2's ruleset and essentially merges the two games into one huge game.

But no, EE doesn't contain BG2.

As for a Mage, prepare to suck massive balls for the first 4 levels. It takes until level 5 (which unlocks 3rd level spells) for the Mage to really get going. For level 1, get Sleep. For level 2 get Web. Focus on locking enemies down and showering them with arrows and slingshots. Once you get to level 5 you open up some decent damage spells (hello Fireball!) and your lower level damage spells start to get up there in power. In BG2 is all pays off since Mages are outright broken in that game. The sheer amount of damage and status effects a Mage can pull off is astonishing at higher levels, not to mention that the best way to kill a Mage is to bring your own Mage.

If you're feeling frisky you could try a multiclass of some kind. Cleric/Mage can be fun, what with access to almost all the spells in the game and only a level or two behind the pure classes. Fighter/Mage and Thief/Mage are also solid, with the first offering better health and weapon options, while the other provides extra utility through thief skills (and also more weapon options).

Finally, there's the ultimate Mage cheese build - Make a Human Warrior (yes, you read that right), play him through BG1, import him into BG2, pick the Kensai kit for him (a Warrior variant that gets tons of bonuses to damage and to hit but can't wear armor), then Dual Class him into a Mage. Once your Mage levels catch up, you'll end up with a mid-level Fighter with good damage and you'll eventually catch up to pure Mages in spellcasting.

And then there's the Wild Mage in BG2, which is just ridiculous...