Newbie questions about IA Options

[Dementia]

Hi everybody!

I'm new to Improved Anvil and have heard a lot of good about it.

I have a few questions before playing:

i) I see a lot of talk about playing mage or vagrant, but I really like playing some kind of cleric ie C/R or C/F or a pure cleric. Can I enjoy IA without playing vagrant or mage?

ii) I don't consider myself a very good tactician, can I enjoy IA without being too frustrated. I accept reloads. But I would hate to sit a whole day not getting further. I would skip very tough challenges like the slaver compund but otherwise follow the plot and most else.

iii) I do like the banters of NPC does IA change that?

iv) Will I have to make custom NPC's? I would prefer to use Bioware's NPC or a few other like Xan, Auren or Kivan.

v) I never played ToB before, well I remember years ago I tried the big dungeon (I don't remember the name) but I didn't come through. Will that matter if I intend to play IA?

ahh well I think I got most of my questions. Thanks for your help in advance

Dementia

[geh4th]

I'm still relatively new myself, but I'll try fielding these for you.

1) The most new content for extended stronghold quests (as of IA 5.0) is for the Mage and Vagrant classes. That's why they're heavily suggested. Vagrants in addition will have access to some of the most powerful item upgrades available. I'd check out the item upgrades document in the read me in detail.

2) You might not be a very good tactician now, but IA will teach you that by hard knocks. I'd advise that you follow the pinned "suggested quest order" initially to avoid particularly hard early battles. Many places and encounters you might be used to tackling early are way too strong to try beating early in IA. Learn to recognize when you're in over your head and go do something your group is more capable of instead. You'll find yourself partially completing lots of quests and coming back to finish them later.

Check this forum if you're having trouble with a particular battle or type of creature. Most of what you might ask will probably have been asked already, but don't ruin it for yourself by reading too many spoilers. The fun is in the seeing stuff for the first time. Don't cheat or be cheesy when fighting encounters, you only hurt yourself (there's a thread about that); but reloading is a way of life when learning and certainly isn't considered cheating.

And get used to tough mages and very strong new monster types.

3) I don't think IA affects banters in any fashion.

4) You certainly don't HAVE to make any custom NPC's, but you can. I'd suggest considering a custom sorcerer, they rock in IA. Imoen is a sorceress, so you might not need a custom Sorcerer past getting her back if you don't want two. If you want to use Xan or another 3rd-party mod NPC, be sure to read the readme for any known compatibility issues. Also, some mods add items that are imbalancing in the early stages of the game (Xan comes to mind.)

5) Throne of Bhaal: Once you've survived even the earliest of IA improved battles and monsters, you'll begin to learn how to apply new skills at tougher and tougher encounters. I doubt you'll even notice game play being any harder once you get to ToB. I haven't yet been that far but that's my impression.


Good luck and above all, BE PATIENT. I wasn't, initially, and got a little bit discouraged. Do NOT lose faith, just reload a bad encounter and try again, unless it's obviously beyond your party's ability. Emphasis: the suggested quest order is a great way to start.