I'm playing a TON of BG1/2 right now (EE for me, just due to better mod support etc.) while I'm waiting for BG3 to come out. I still absolutely love it to this day and I think it aged very well. The modding community has also kept it fresh for me - mainly through challenge mods like SCS and Ascension.

I recently just finished a solo-run with an uncapped Fighter/Mage/Thief (mainly because otherwise you can hit the XP cap in chapter 4 of 10 in BG2/TOB). The final battle with this mod (done by David Gaider, one of the Devs of the game) is probably still my favorite final boss fight in RPG history. It's an intense gauntlet of fights after fights that stretches your resources to the limits, especially if you're solo-ing. It also fixes some of the narrative issues of the original ending. Highly recommended for anyone replaying this fine game today.

The thing I miss most really is more the 2E aspects of the game, where the magic system really feels like magic. There are certain hard rules and interactions to the system - i.e. if someone has Protection from Magical Weapons, they WILL not be hit. That's it. No brute forcing like how you can in Pathfinder or 5E. It's very binary and unfair on an individual basis, but in party-based game I think it adds a lot chess-like mini-games and depth. However, I don't think any modern D&D game will get to use that system again.

The other thing I'll say will probably not go well with the Table-Top purists, but BG2 definitely took in liberties in adapting the D&D rules for the videogame, and I think it was WAY better for it. There is a lot of broken cheese in this game that has become defining features of the game IMO. Some of it is almost core to the gameplay - i.e. learning the latin spoken for different spell types, and microing you toon away and item-swapping to the right pieces to help you tank it last moment as literal magic projectiles approaching is an AMAZING experience, and more Diablo than D&D. But it's amazing, and I wouldn't have BG2 in any other way. The amazing final battle that I just had on Ascension would not be possible if both my character and the enemies were playing by the "rules".

My only complaint about the game - i.e. the thing that has aged worst for me - really is some of the plotting and lack of branching/choices. For a game that lets you roleplay an ascension to godhood, it does kind of often put you into places of absolute powerlessness for plot convenience via cutscenes. I.e. getting captured multiple times, constantly being tricked by not just the main villains (even if you can see it coming a mile away), but even minor sleezebag side characters like Saemon Havarian, etc. It's surprisingly linear. But at this point I'm basically fast forwarding the dialogue to get to the fun parts so the break in immersion doesn't really hurt that much.

Currently doing a Cleric/Ranger party run - another example of cheese or "bad implementation turned fun". It's a kind of a infamous multi-class because Bioware implemented it in that makes this class get all the Druid spells too (something off limits to Clerics and Rangers). Ironically, the Beamdog actually removed this cool interaction - it was the first thing I modded back in lol. I'm blazing through this pretty quickly - already in Throne of Bhaal with 3 of the 5 down for the count.

Embarrassingly, this new EE portrait might have inspired me to name my character after someone from BG3...

[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]

Last edited by Topgoon; 08/04/22 03:10 AM.