Recommended Spells, and miscellaneous standard questions Options

[nataben1314]

Hello everyone! So after all these years I'm finally getting a new computer which should be able to run BG2 and IA without difficulty (hoping there will be no problems with Vista 64!). So I think I'm going to play through IA now that I have a computer that can handle the extensive scripts (my current computer is so bad it can hardly run three firefox windows without overheating )

Anyways, while I wait for my new computer to be shipped to me I am wondering if I can get some help so that by the time I get it, I can start IA right away!

I know some basic things about IA because I played some of it in previous versions, but never finished a game due to my computer problems. So here are my questions:

1) It seems like the use of spellcasters is different in IA, and some of the spells have been tweaked. I was wondering if an IA veteran would be willing to make a "recommended spells" list. I don't want anything that will say "at level x pick spell y", but rather maybe a list like "these are the level 1 spells that are very useful in IA, these are the level 2 spells that are very useful in IA, etc." so that I can choose my spell progression myself, yet at the same time I won't be worried about picking worthless spells or missing powerful IA spells that aren't so good in standard BG. This is especially important for sorcerer, of course.

2) I saw that "no traps/locks" component is not recommended in IA's documentation. May I ask why? In normal BG games I like to install this component, because I think that traps and locks were more tedious than fun, and I don't care about the extra XP they give. If it causes serious problems for IA though I will of course not install it as per Sikret's recommendation.

3) Will it introduce problems into the game if i CLUA in a bag of holding? I just don't find inventory management to be a fun aspect of the game... running back to my stronghold all the time to stash stuff is not fun to me!

4) Will it introduce problems into the game if, at character creation screen, I use ctrl+8, then diminish the stats to reasonable levels, as opposed to just rolling stats forever until I get good rolls? The one problem for this is that it sets strength to 18/00 which is obviously cheesy, but if I used this I would not use it on warrior characters (I would roll normally for them), and on non-warrior characters I would not have their strength be up to 18.

5) Are there any balanced, well-regarded quest-adding mods which are not incompatible with IA? The only one I could think of was Tower of Deception, which I do plan to install. Note that I'm not interested in NPC mods.

6) Finally, the basic "party composition" questions:

Vagrant
R/C multi
Blade
Berserker
M/C multi
Sorcerer

Fighter/Tanks: Vagrant, Berserker, Ranger/Cleric, and Blade (when properly buffed)
Divine Magic: R/C and M/C
Arcane Magic: Sorcerer, M/C, Blade

Any glaring omissions here? The one obvious thing is the lack of a thief. Whether I need a thief will depend on what Sikret says about the "no traps/locks" component. If he says that there are major problems with the "no traps/locks" component, I guess I can replace the Blade with a Swashie. Speaking of the blade, it looks like stealing from stores is allowed now in v5 if I'm not mistaken. I wonder if it would be worth it to use a plainclass bard or jester instead of a blade for higher pickpocket value? Also, what about weapon proficiencies for my party? IA changes the weapons so much that its hard for me to decide, especially since I have no way of knowing how many new weapons I can expect to be able to forge. I know it is a good idea to have varying damage-types, but beyond that I have no idea.

So sorry for so many questions...

[Sikret]

1) It seems like the use of spellcasters is different in IA, and some of the spells have been tweaked. I was wondering if an IA veteran would be willing to make a "recommended spells" list. I don't want anything that will say "at level x pick spell y", but rather maybe a list like "these are the level 1 spells that are very useful in IA, these are the level 2 spells that are very useful in IA, etc." so that I can choose my spell progression myself, yet at the same time I won't be worried about picking worthless spells or missing powerful IA spells that aren't so good in standard BG. This is especially important for sorcerer, of course.

Picking spells for sorcerers is more or less a matter of playing style and taste, but here are some helpful comments for spell selection in IA v5 (in v6, they will be different for sure):

1st level: just don't miss Larloch's Minor Drain, but don't go after Spook and such things.
2nd level: Pick anything you like. However, "Web" is too cheesy for my taste, but I don't label it as 'cheesy' for ordinary players and beginners, a veteran tactician should not pick web though IMO.
3rd level: Vampiric Touch is a must. Prot from Fire, Prot from Cold and Flame Arrow are good choices too. Don't go after Skull Trap
4th level: Emotion, Stoneskin and Ray of Fragmentation are the best choices. Don't go after Imp. Invisiblity, IMO.
5th level: Spell Immunity, Breach, Oracle, Lower Resistance and Sunfire are good choices (I don't recommend Sunfire to tactical gurus who are looking for the maximum challenge against the drows in underdark). Don't pick 'Spell Shield'.
6th level: Prot from magic energy, prot from magic weapons, Imp. Haste and Chain Lightining are good choices. Don't pick the cheesy Mislead (it no longer exists in v6).
7th level: Ruby Ray of Reversal, Hand of Undoing, Finger of Death, spell Turning and Morden kainen Sword are good choices (there will be better choices in v6).
8th level: ADHW, Tenser's Partial Transformation, prot from energy (there will be better choices in v6)
9th level (including HLAs): Imp. Alacrity, wish, summon planatar, Dragon's breath, Energy Blades and Absolute Immunity (there are enemies against whom PFMW won't be enough) are good choices. Don't go after Time Stop, Shape change and Spell Trap (the latter won't exist in v6). Needless to say that there will be more and better choices in v6.

2) I saw that "no traps/locks" component is not recommended in IA's documentation. May I ask why?

It breaks the game as Nominar said.

3) Will it introduce problems into the game if i CLUA in a bag of holding? I just don't find inventory management to be a fun aspect of the game... running back to my stronghold all the time to stash stuff is not fun to me!

Don't CLUA in anything, be it a bag or anything else.

4) Will it introduce problems into the game if, at character creation screen, I use ctrl+8, then diminish the stats to reasonable levels, as opposed to just rolling stats forever until I get good rolls? The one problem for this is that it sets strength to 18/00 which is obviously cheesy, but if I used this I would not use it on warrior characters (I would roll normally for them), and on non-warrior characters I would not have their strength be up to 18.

Don't use ctrl-8.

Define a fixed number of times for yourself to re-roll for your characters' stats and then pick the best one. For example, roll 216 times and pick the best result.

5) Are there any balanced, well-regarded quest-adding mods which are not incompatible with IA? The only one I could think of was Tower of Deception, which I do plan to install. Note that I'm not interested in NPC mods.

Do you still need more content even with IA installed?! The addiitonal xp and items of other mods may break the game's general atmosphere and greater balance for very little gain. Tower of Deception is fine though.

Any glaring omissions here? The one obvious thing is the lack of a thief. Whether I need a thief will depend on what Sikret says about the "no traps/locks" component. If he says that there are major problems with the "no traps/locks" component, I guess I can replace the Blade with a Swashie.

A swashbuckler dualled to cleric or mage is a better choice than a bard, specially if you want to polish your tactical skills for IA v6.

it looks like stealing from stores is allowed now in v5 if I'm not mistaken.

You are mistaken. You can't steal from stores.

[nataben1314]

Thanks for the spell info, everyone... greatly appreciated!!!

It breaks the game as Nominar said.

I don't understand... is this different in IA? Because in vanilla BG, the way "No traps/locks" worked for me was that the locks that were normal locks would be completely unlocked, but the locks that were "key-required" would still be locked, but could be broken open by bashing with anyone of any amount of strength. This way you could cheesily open key-required doors if you wanted, but they would not be automatically open. It worked nicely for me and never caused problems with pre-mature opening of key-locked doors, but if there are still reasons why it wouldn't work in IA, then of course I will honor your recommendation.

Don't CLUA in anything, be it a bag or anything else.

Is this because it screws something up with the game, or just that its viewed as overpowered or cheesy? I don't see how having a bag will help so much, because all it really does is prevent you from the boring act of running to your stronghold constantly to horde stuff. If it screws up the game then of course I won't use it... I'm just curious. Also FYI I would only use one bag of holding to prevent the problem of CLUAing in one, then finding another that has duplicates of your items in it.

Don't use ctrl-8.

Define a fixed number of times for yourself to re-roll for your characters' stats and then pick the best one. For example, roll 216 times and pick the best result.

okay, thanks for the heads up

Do you still need more content even with IA installed?! The addiitonal xp and items of other mods may break the game's general atmosphere and greater balance for very little gain. Tower of Deception is fine though.

good point... I just like having lots of content and as you have said in your FAQ, IA is not intended to be a total conversion mod... maybe I'll just install ToD then.

A swashbuckler dualled to cleric or mage is a better choice than a bard, specially if you want to polish your tactical skills for IA v6.

Interesting... the problem is that I just don't like dual-classes! Maybe I'll just use the blade this time, that way using a swashie or something seems more "fresh" when IA 6 comes out... because I'm not the type of person who enjoys playing the same setup twice in a row. At least this way I can experience the mighty bard and eternal melody before they get killed!

it looks like stealing from stores is allowed now in v5 if I'm not mistaken.

You are mistaken. You can't steal from stores.

Okay... I just thought store stealing might have been re-instated because I didn't see it on the readme. On the readme you have:

43- The following items' prices have been increased (and none of them will be stealable):

These make it seem as if stealing is still allowed in general from stores... because if stealing was not allowed at all it would be better to say that instead of saying "none of them will be stealable" in point 43, which implies that other things are stealable, you could just say generally "stealing from stores is completely disabled".

45- Stores are tweaked not to allow cheesy methods of earning easy money by stealing items and
selling them back.

This makes it seem as if just sell/stealing is blocked, and not stealing in general.

Maybe I am just reading an out of date readme though. Not sure!

Anyways, thanks so much for the info.... if anyone has general advice on weapon proficiencies I'd be grateful... one thing that would even help a lot is to just say which profs ARENT good in IA... I don't particularly need to know exactly what profs to get with which character... I jsut want to save myself the problem of choosing a proficiency without much good weapons.

[Sikret]

I don't understand... is this different in IA? Because in vanilla BG, the way "No traps/locks" worked for me was that the locks that were normal locks would be completely unlocked, but the locks that were "key-required" would still be locked, but could be broken open by bashing with anyone of any amount of strength.

Even in this form, it's game-breaking, because quest-related locked doors should not be breakable or pickable prematurely; otherwise, you may even unintentionally open such a door and create even more serious bugs by visiting a map you are not supposed to visit at that given stage of the game.

Don't CLUA in anything, be it a bag or anything else.

Is this because it screws something up with the game, or just that its viewed as overpowered or cheesy? I don't see how having a bag will help so much, because all it really does is prevent you from the boring act of running to your stronghold constantly to horde stuff. If it screws up the game then of course I won't use it... I'm just curious. Also FYI I would only use one bag of holding to prevent the problem of CLUAing in one, then finding another that has duplicates of your items in it.

Creating an item in your inventory prematurely can potentially cause all sorts of problems depending on the item's nature; but in general, I don't approve cheating in any form; so, I don't really need to know which item you intend to cheat into your game in order to disapprove it with a prompt "no".

Do you still need more content even with IA installed?! The addiitonal xp and items of other mods may break the game's general atmosphere and greater balance for very little gain. Tower of Deception is fine though.

good point... I just like having lots of content and as you have said in your FAQ, IA is not intended to be a total conversion mod... maybe I'll just install ToD then.

Yes, IA is not a total conversion. Many mods are compatible with IA, but it doesn't mean that adding lots of mods to the game is a good idea. The extra xp and extra items other mods add to the game may potentially ruin the game's fun. Just read what Apsis wrote about an easy-to-gain robe in a mod which grants even better bonuses than the fabulous "Memory of the Apprenti" to see my point. Such extra items of other mods can easily destroy the overall atmosphere of the game. The fact that such a mod is technically compatible with IA doesn't make a good argument for installing and playing it together with IA. You can, of course, say that you will leave those items on the ground (which is a good choice), but what do you want to do with the additional and unintended xp the other mod adds to your party? Nonetheless, if you know balanced and bugfree mods, you can add one or two to your game, but don't overdo this.

Okay... I just thought store stealing might have been re-instated because I didn't see it on the readme.

The v6 readme will be clearer and more explicit about the stores.

if anyone has general advice on weapon proficiencies I'd be grateful... one thing that would even help a lot is to just say which profs ARENT good in IA...

No prof is bad in IA. Pick any prof you want; all of them can prove useful. Have a look at the upgradable items document attached to the readme to see the class restrictions of each item to have a better idea about who will use what in the long term.