Yet another new guy at IA Options

[(Ø=M)^42]

Hello everyone.
I've finally managed to outsmart my evil email spamfilter, and thus completed my registration here. I'm very interested in IA, but I'm not sure I'm fit for it yet. I've never modded bg more than using tutu, so I don't have any experience of improved encounters. When I fight mages, I throw on some Breach and other similar spells, send fighters on and hope I kill them. From what I've read, IA mages will be just a tidbit harder to kill, using SI:abjuration and massive protections. I'm mostly wondering if there's any point in trying if I'm not sufficiently skilled in tactical bg fighting. Reloading a few times to polish a way to do a battle is of course ok, but really banging my head on a wall would drain the fun quite fast.

Due to that concern, I've also tried to get some ideas to help me out. I'd consider playing on a quite easy difficulty setting, and possibly using multiplayer, to get more powerful characters like kensai, ranger/cleric, swashbuckler, sorcerer and so on. I do view myself as a skilled gamer, but I'm just not fully attuned to bg. Hmm.. getting messy. Well, what I'm asking for is mostly tips for a newbie at IA, stuff like suggested group setup, anything similar to smart moves like having lots of Ruby Rays memorized. Maybe even a suggestion for good starting quests.

Big hugs and love goes out to everyone for helping me get into IA <3

Øystein

Edit: For what it's worth, I used Marvin^42 on SP, since that forum didn't allow for one or more of the characters in this name

This post has been edited by (Ø=M)^42: Jun 21 2007, 05:49 PM

[Marceror]

OP (don't think I'm even capable of typing your username).

I'm currently playing Improved Anvil 4.2, and started under very similar pretenses to what you describe. I've been playing Baldur's Gate for years, and know the game well, but am hardly a tactical genius at it, and had never played any sort of tactical mod prior to going into IA. Sounds pretty close to your situation.

In terms of where I've made it to in the game, I just defeated Yaga Shura last night.

So, like me, I'm guessing you can do it. But expect some moments of frustration, and a learning curve. Once you get through that learning curve getting past a tough fight is pretty rewarding. It's hard to predict exactly where you'll have problems. For example, I got through what is supposedly one of the most difficult encounters in the game (the Judgement Day battle, something Sikret added to the game) without requesting assistance from anyone. It was a tough fight, but I could see a logical path to victory. However, the Yaga Shura battle which is supposedly a lot easier, had me totally stumped last night, and I failed at it over and over. It wasn't until one of the helpful game testers mentioned in a post to cast breach when Yaga Shura invokes hardiness that the light bulbs went off. I had no idea that breach removed hardiness, nor do I logically understand why it even would, but it was a fundamental game mechanic that I needed to understand to win that battle. Once I was armed with that knowledge, it took less than 30 minutes (and 3 very quick attempts) to bring home the victory.

In the SoA portion of the game, you just need to understand that many encounters are for "later." There are many things you have no hope of doing coming straight out of Irenicus' Dungeon. To avoid you some frustration, I'll recommend getting out of Athkatla almost immediately and doing the Trademeet Quests. The point is, don't expect to breeze through every part of the game, and there will be some moments of frustration. If you really get stumped, post your situation (I've done that many times on the sorcerers.net boards - finally registered on BWL just to respond to you). I find that the rewards are well worth it, and once you get a feel for Sikret's modding style, there's a lot more fun than frustration.

You can find a link to my IA experience here, and here:

http://www.sorcerers.net/ubb/ultimatebb.ph...ic/10/6175.html
http://www.sorcerers.net/ubb/ultimatebb.ph...ic/10/6213.html

They say, "no pain, no gain." There's some pain to be found in IA, but the gains are really, really nice, and rewarding. Hope this helps!

--PS - apologies in advance for typos. I typed this REALLY fast, and don't have time to proofread as I typically would.