Baldur's Gate 2 Enhanced Edition : Vanilla Or Modded?

[drgames]

I am gonna play for the first time baldur's gate 2 enanched edition, do you recommend vanilla or modded? If modded, what are the best mods?

 

[bataille]

http://baldursgate.wikia.com/wiki/Sword_Coast_Stratagems

 

[Ramnozack]

I am gonna play for the first time baldur's gate 2 enanched edition, do you recommend vanilla or modded? If modded, what are the best mods?

Use https://baldursextendedworld.com/Install-Tool/, pick the mods that interest you, click install. I could post my mod loadout for EET if you would like

 

[Apostle Hand]

If this is your first time playing BG2 I recommend unmodded to feel things in proper way.

There are various helpful mods however, SCS, Tactics, Ascension, BG2 Tweak Pack, Item Upgrade, banter pack, shapeshifter rebalancing...

 

[Riddler]

No reason to use mods the first time you go through the game. Sword coast strategems will make things too difficult for a newbie and ease of use things for replays like dungeon-be-gone lessens the experience if anything.

What you probably want to consider is the fixpack and you definitely want ascension for ToB.

 

[Mr. Magniloquent]

Check out Gibberlings 3. They have most of the mods that are desirable. Spellhold Studious has most of the rest.

MUST:

• Ascension
• Wheels of Prophecy
• Sword Coast Strategems
• Spell Revisions
• Item Revisions
• Fixpacks
• Tweaks Anthology
• aTweaks (PnP fiends + HLA revisions)
• Rogues Re-balanced

Recommend:

• NPC Project (BG1)
• PnP Celestials
• Divine Remix
• Wizard Slayer Revisions
• Wild Mage expansion
• Saradas Revisioned Shapeshifter
• Unfinished Business
• Oversight (Most for the Monk abilities)
• G3 Anniversary Mod
• Assassinations Mod
• Paint BG

Potential:

• Enhanced Edition Trilogy. Supposedly very stable now, but hasn't endured the test of time yet like other mods have. I haven't tried it out myself yet, but intend to.

DON'T:

1. Tactics. Whereas SCS is elegent and fair use of the rules to excellent effect, Tactics is just god-awful bloat and cheese. AVOID.
2. Nearly every single NPC mod out there. Valen, Kelsey, and Keto are decent, but for the most part--avoid these like the plague. Almost all are terribly written, snowflake, adolescent trash.

There are more mods, (I certainly use others) but this list is pretty comprehensive. Also, you might want to check out The Big World Project. It has been updated for EE I believe, and handles most of the work for installing all of these mods--including cross-mod compatibility.

 

[TemplarGR]

Vanilla

 

[slymer]

no need for mods on a first playthrough

 

[octavius]

If this is your first time playing BG2 I recommend unmodded to feel things in proper way.

There are various helpful mods however, SCS, Tactics, Ascension, BG2 Tweak Pack, Item Upgrade, banter pack, shapeshifter rebalancing...

Heh, Tactics "helpful".

 

[Deleted Member 16721]

You should play BG1 first. BG2 is like a really sweet icing but BG1 is the cake. Ya can't just jump into your dessert like that, sheesh.

 

[Generic-Giant-Spider]

BG2 as GOD intended, not that popamole Enhanced Edition bullshit. I'm talking completely vanilla, year 2000, day one Baldur's Gate 2: Shadows of Amn action. If your NPCs don't appear busy when trying to talk to them then it's not the real deal, Jack.

 

[roshan]

I'm playing Enhanced Edition Trilogy, and I can't understand how or why the retards of Codex prefer the originals. The ease of use features and interface improvements are incredible and render the originals unplayable once you're used to them.

For one thing, zooming. The ability to zoom out really far and get a bird's eye view of the map is pretty awesome. You don't need to scroll around to follow your characters over a long distance, just zoom out and watch them make their way through the map.

Next, not having to unequip your shield or offhand weapon when changing to missile weapons or two handed weapons. In the original, you couldn't even equip a bow as a backup weapon if you were carrying a shield.

Next, quick loot interface!

Also, the improved journal keeps everything nice and sorted and allows you to keep track of your quests properly.

At this point, anyone who claims they prefer the originals is seriously demented.

 

[Generic-Giant-Spider]

Well the retards of the Codex don't have to pay $20 to add a few mods into vanilla BG2.

 

[Naraya]

With all this talk about BG3, I have the urge to replay BG2. I have only played it once a long time ago (I know, I know) as a dwarf fighter/tank. While I enjoyed the story very much, my charname's gameplay felt really boring.

I think this time I want to play a caster. What would be an interesting build to play? I was thinking of cleric/mage. Does it sound good?

*For now, I don't plan to use SCS Stratagems. I used it on my 1st playthrough and I think I cranked too many things up since the game felt quite hard. Also - mind you, I am not knowledgeable in all these exploiting strategies anyway. Just want to play a good RPG.

 

[octavius]

Yes, I think you get the ultimate caster with a Cleric/Mage since they can use cleric spells in Contingencies and Sequencers.

 

[Lilura]

I was thinking of cleric/mage. Does it sound good?

Comparison of Swiss Army Knives.

 

[hell bovine]

I think this time I want to play a caster. What would be an interesting build to play? I was thinking of cleric/mage. Does it sound good?

If you play a full party, they level up very slowly. I've played one in a party of three and it was about right. As for recommendations, the most fun I've had was with a wild mage, but you either embrace the crazy, or you'll find them very annoying.

Another solid caster for unmodded game is the avenger druid. They get web very early in BG1, and in BG2 insect plague & creeping doom will win you a lot of battles. On the downside, their stronghold is just boring, while the mage stronghold is fun.

 

[Sweeper]

I'm playing Enhanced Edition Trilogy, and I can't understand how or why the retards of Codex prefer the originals

It's just grognards trying to outgrognard one another.
QoL improvements are never a bad thing, and old RPGs need them.

 

[Goromorg]

Vanilla with Imoen romance mod.
/thread

 

[Gargaune]

I am gonna play for the first time baldur's gate 2 enanched edition, do you recommend vanilla or modded? If modded, what are the best mods?

While BG2 EE is quite fine without tinkering, there's one mod I absolutely recommend installing right off the bat - Lefreut's UI. Especially if you have Scale User Interface toggled on, the mod looks much sharper and more consistent than the default. This here's the BG2 variant, you can also get BG1 and SOD skins from the same guy. He got banned on the official forums but his threads are still up and the links go to GitHub.

Aside from that, if you find that you're getting a lot of your characters getting stuck in one another, you may want to try Bubb's pathfinding fix. There's a nasty collision bug in the 2.5 EEs that's gone unduly neglected.

Finally, I now also use the fast detection component of Trap Overhaul, but that's not really necessary, just got tired of the round delay after the first couple of playthroughs.

 

[Chippy]

All these newbies to traditional RPGs asking about playing BG1/2 for the first time, and asking what mods to use.

Let me put it this way. Its a lot like having a slightly retarded, younger, naive family member come up to you for advice. They tell you they're still a virgin and that they're thinking of going to Amsterdam in Europe to the Red Light district to lose their virginity. So do you tell them:
A. "That sounds like a great idea boy! Amsterdam is a den of stinking evil! Make sure you poke your nose into every crevice, and leave none of your own untouched!".
B. "Stay home lad. We're a traditional family. You meet the right person, and when you're raising a family as God intended, you will thank me for this small piece of advice in the years ahead.

Personally I'd advise 'B'. But what do I know. I hear some people like all kinds of weird shit.

 

[Anthedon]

Vanilla. Venture into the depths of autism that is IE modding at your own peril.

 

[Cryomancer]

Vanilla. Then re play with tons of mods.

 

[Mr. Magniloquent]

One mod that needs far more praising, is the aTweaks mod. One of the most outstanding features are the PnP Fiend restorations. Fiends in BG2 can be a bit lackluster in power once you get finally get around to fighting them. The summoned fiends also lack the kind of verve and battlefield presence you would expect.

PnP Fiends fixes that. Removes the bogus abilities and gives them all of their proper stats, spells, and abilities. They truly become a nightmare from beyond the planes. It also improves their AI to SCS levels, which it is also compatible with. They will make you clench up on your no-reload run like never before. Glabrezus are skirmishing nightmares, Alu-fiends and succubus will twist your party, and horrific powers like the Nabassu's death gaze, or the Balor's vorpal attacks re-establish the terror of their reputation.

There are also many other cool features. Pretty much every LE, NE, and CE fiends from the monster manual is in there, and when you summon them, they being The Blood War with them. Demons and Devils will duke it out with each other if on the same battlefield. There is more just to this one feature, let alone to the many other improvement s the aTweaks mod brings. Play with it. Your SoA and especially ToB runs will never be the same.

 

[InD_ImaginE]

Always play a game vanilla the first time you play a game with maybe few exception such as bugfixes or widescreen mod for older games.

Appreciate what is done in the game originally and then you can know what kind of mod you are looking for.