IA compatible mods Options

[bulian]

Here is a summary of mod technical compatibility with improved anvil (v6.5) based on recent playthrough I've done as well as input from lroumen and edboy. Obviously additional content will result in additional XP and gold and could impact the difficulty curve for your playthrough. There may be some hidden bugs that weren't caught in the testing, so your mileage may vary!

From Critto around mod integration and maintenance - essentially you're on your own for support!
Reminder to the players to be aware that this still might produce technical issues in which case the recommended course of action would be to uninstall the offending mod because the task of maintaining compatibility is a hard one to perform with the very limited time we have

Towers of Deception (v3.2)
- Compatible, I consider v3.2 which has an IA specific fight in Ch 7 to be “canon” with IA
- Provides high XP bonus to party
- One OP item that should be sold and few minor treasures (RoP +2)
- IA specific encounter in Ch 7
Alabaster Sands (Athkatla Grounds)
- Compatible
- Small amount of XP and quests, no conflicts with main mods. One or two early available items that may be OP when gotten, but nothing game breaking.
Bridges Block (Athkatla Grounds)
- Compatible
- Small amount of XP and quests, no conflicts with main mods. Some stat modification books and one or two vendor items that may be OP when gotten
- Some spell scrolls (wizard lvl 2-5) that I ignored
Southern Edge (Athkatla Grounds)
- Largely compatible, minor incompatibility potential
- Small amount of XP and gold.
- Some OP vendor items that should be avoided or may impact scripts and should be avoided
Tangled Isle (Athkatla Grounds)
- Compatible
- Small amount of XP and gold.
- Some OP vendor items that should be avoided or may impact scripts and should be avoided
- Aquest reward item giving permanent physical damage resist that should be ignored.
Oozes Lounge (Athkatla Grounds)
- Largely Compatible, minor incompatibility potential
- Small amount of XP and gold. Some OP vendor items that should be avoided.
Journey to Whin Hill (Athkatla Grounds)
- Slight but manageable incompatibility,
- Small amount of XP and gold.
- Some OP vendor items that should be avoided.
- New NPC (multi T/C with custom kit) that could impact scripts and may impact IATweaks kit reassignments, which can be overcome using EE keeper. Kit and NPC stats are surely aimed at RP so unlikely to be impact a min/max IA style party.
In Love Undeath (Dreadful Tales)
- Marginally incompatible, do not recommend with IA
- Small amount of XP and gold.
- Adds a new NPC and new class that could impact scripts and may impact IATweaks kit reassignments, which can be overcome using EE keeper. New NPC was not tested.
- Some OP items for sale by vendor
- Some dialogue bugs with Cromwell (likely due to personal install, I think executed well in mod)
Juniper and the Stone Leech (Dreadful Tales)
- Not tested, TOB content
Bloodied Stings of Barovia (Dreadful Tales)
- Not tested
Innershade (Colours of Infinity)
- Not fully tested, compatible
- Small amount of XP and gold.
- Opportunity to have a “parasite” companion with dialogue �“ unclear whether longer term benefits/conflicts
- Several powerful items for sale by vendor that should be ignored
The White Queen (Colours of Infinity)
- Compatible, one or two fights that are improved using IA scripts.
- Small amount of XP and gold.
- Provides a minor innate ability bonus to PC (not fully tested), such as blur, that shouldn’t impact balance
- Some OP items can be obtained via combat that should be ignored
I Shall Never Forget (Colours of Infinity)
- Compatible
- Small amount of XP and gold.
- Provides a minor innate ability bonus to PC (not fully tested), such as blur
- Some OP vendor items that can be obtained that should be ignored
Tales of the Deep Garden (Colours of Infinity)
- Compatible per Ed Boy/Lroumen.
- Gives around 45k XP
- One fight improved using IA scripts. Some OP rewards that should be skipped.
Yvette Romance (Colours of Infinity)
- Not tested. Compatible per lroumen.
Foundling: Between the Shades (Colours of Infinity)
- Do not recommend with IA
- Adds a new NPC and new arcane magic class that could impact scripts and may impact IATweaks kit reassignments, which can be overcome using EE keeper. New NPC was not thoroughly tested in combat.
Skie: The Cost on One’s Girls Soul
- Compatible
- Small amount of XP and gold.
- Adds one or two new NPCs (not tested) and a potentially forgeable OP item that should be ignored.
Ellistraee’s Song
- Do not recommend with IA
- Provides significant XP, many OP items, a new kit which could impact IATweaks kit reassignments, and an OP innate ability.
Of HeirloomsAnd Classes
- Do not recommend with IA
- Several issues with Cromwell’s dialogue files.
- Some items were OP.
Heroes Thieves and Moneylenders
- Not fully tested, do not recommend for IA
- Install issues on component 4 due to particular script modification in IA
- Bank and interest component can impact gold balance in the game
- Bugs were observed in several quests, though I did not test all components of them
G3 Anniversary mod
- Compatible
- Small amount of XP and gold.
- One or two new items which are not OP but should likely be avoided
Fishing for Trouble
- Not tested
Test Your Mettle
- Not tested
Skip ChateauIrenicus
- Partially Compatible, not recommended beyond 6.5.
- Several new encounters in this dungeon in some of the development space that may be missed with this mod installed.
Djinni companion
- Not tested

This post has been edited by bulian: Dec 28 2023, 01:49 AM

[ed boy]

I don't have a detailed breakdown of mods that will and won't work, but in general:

• Mods that affect existing enemies in the game (eg SCS) will not be compatible
• Mods that alter classes and kits not listed as changed in the IA docs should be compatible
• Mods that alter classes and kits listed in the IA docs will not be compatible
• Mods that change level caps, XP curves, THAC0 or spells by level will not be compatible
• Quality of life mods (eg potion stacking) will mostly be compatible, but install them before IA to be safe
• Mods that add existing encounters in vanilla locations that are orthogonal to the existing vanilla content should be compatible (though if an IA encounter and another mod encounter are located next to each other it can make the combined encounter very hard)
• Mods that add new areas to the game should be compatible
• Mods that add new items to the game should be compatible
• Mods that add new companions should be compatible

Note that for mods that should be compatible, there are a few things to keep in mind:

• If there is a clash between mods, generally speaking the mod that was installed last "wins"
• If a mod uses a vanilla enemy that IA modifies (eg minotaurs, cowled wizards), they will keep the IA modifications
• Even if a mod does not cause any explicit conflicts with IA, a lot of them (eg shadows over soubar) provide character buffs or equipment that will ruin the IA difficulty curve
• Some effects (e.g. immunity to silence) IA expects to only come from a small number of sources, which are individually checked by the AI, so an additional item that provides the same effect will not be detected by the IA scripts, which may cause odd behaviour
• Pretty much any conflict can be sorted out if you're confident enough with NearInfinity or Shadowkeeper

[Sikret]

Nice to see new fans here.

[lroumen]

I am playing with all of Lava's quest mods installed. They are so far all compatible. I must say that there are a few items that are maybe too good for IA AI, being that they give early high enchantment weapons, some immunities (as to silence) and sometimes casting speed or attack speed.

The only twk issue I encountered in my own fault are with Korgan having broken dialogue, but that is I think vanilla since it goes out of sequence with Valygars quest, and the trigger of watchers keep skipping to the scroll whil I am still in level 1. But I am fixing that with scripting.

[bulian]

Ed, thanks for the summary. I think Critto and I fixed the potion stacking in either 6.5 or tweaks, so hopefully that isn't an issue for people anymore. Besides the overpowered item issues, do you think Shadows over Soubar would function with IA? Have you tested it?

That's great to hear lroumen! Do you mind posting or PMing me your install/Weidu log? I don't quite understand the issues you are running into with Watcher's Keep but it seems like it was a simple enough fix.

[SparrowJacek]

IA is incompatible with many mods, but there is also another problem, that should be taken into account. IA is thoroughly balanced in terms of items, experience and gold that you can get at certain stages of the game. So you might find that by installing other mods, you lose a lot of that difficulty and pleasure of progressing further, as fights become easier and gold is abundant.

Ofc, most mods don't focus on raising difficulty or AI of enemies, so they won't pose any threat when you have IA kits and items. And one more thing - since IA overwrites some items/spells, you might encounter some weirdness, with enemies trying to cast wrong spells etc.

[pekkae]

I would have to say that I couldn't agree more.

Even installing only Tower of Deception breaks the flow a little bit, as you can use that as a way to circumvent some innate limitations. Plus the rewards as in items & exp are completely overblown compared to IA's standards.

[bulian]

Thanks for the feedback - We can all agree that IA is very well balanced. Please leave the discussion here to mod compatibility and not impact to IA balance. There are lots of other threads on IA balance and lots of ways to break that balance using the console with the vanilla mod if desired.

[lroumen]

That's great to hear lroumen! Do you mind posting or PMing me your install/Weidu log? I don't quite understand the issues you are running into with Watcher's Keep but it seems like it was a simple enough fix.

For WK, I left after almost clearing level 1. Then after some further travels I go back to the WK area and I am transported to the top where the helmites go into the keep and I get the scroll question by Helm's messenger.
I did not yet solve that issue.

I find that Lava's mods do not give too much XP. They add a bit more flavour here and there and quests to do around the game world. The only thing is that +3 weapons drop earlier than normal, which you can choose to neglect. Some are kind of useless giving AC vs animals or something like that. There are also some interesting buffs that you can get as well.
I like to mix the tough IA fights with some more simple quest additions and lower difficulty fights dotted around the world

My party is not IA level yet. I ran around for quite some time with Petsy and Yvette. I did not take Foundling in the end but I decided to go with Neera for a while. I also dropped Jaheira for Korgan and with his dialogue issues I finally dropped him for Rasaad.

CODE

// Log of Currently Installed WeiDU Mods
// The top of the file is the 'oldest' mod
// ~TP2_File~ #language_number #component_number // [Subcomponent Name -> ] Component Name [ : Version]
~OFHEIRLOOMSANDCLASSES/OFHEIRLOOMSANDCLASSES.TP2~ #0 #0 // Of Heirlooms and Classes - new artifacts forgeable by Cromwell: v1.2
~PETSY/PETSY.TP2~ #0 #0 // Petsy Chattertone: 4.2
~FOUNDLING/FOUNDLING.TP2~ #0 #0 // Foundling: Between the Shades -> Yes, but don't patch the existing save games: 5.3
~SKIECOST/SKIECOST.TP2~ #0 #0 // Skie: The Cost of One Girl's Soul - New quest for Baldur's Gate 2 EE: v4.8
~SKIECOST/SKIECOST.TP2~ #0 #1 // Skie: The Cost of One Girl's Soul - Allow Skie to return as a joinable NPC: v4.8
~SKIECOST/SKIECOST.TP2~ #0 #2 // Skie: The Cost of One Girl's Soul - Add Player-Initiated Dialogue (PID) for Skie: v4.8
~SKIECOST/SKIECOST.TP2~ #0 #3 // Skie: The Cost of One Girl's Soul - The Return of Eddard Silvershield (quest & a joinable NPC): v4.8
~SKIECOST/SKIECOST.TP2~ #0 #4 // Skie: The Cost of One Girl's Soul - Add Player-Initiated Dialogue (PID) for Eddard: v4.8
~SKIECOST/SKIECOST.TP2~ #0 #5 // Skie: The Cost of One Girl's Soul - Add brand new SoD-oriented items to BG2: v4.8
~WILLOWISP/WILLOWISP.TP2~ #0 #0 // Will NPC, shaman stronghold and new shaman kit for BG2EE: 2.3
~WILLOWISP/WILLOWISP.TP2~ #0 #1 // Change shaman .tlk string to remove "Ineligible for any stronghold" line: 2.3
~WILLOWISP/WILLOWISP.TP2~ #0 #2 // New items for shamans and undead NPCs: 2.3
~WILLOWISP/WILLOWISP.TP2~ #0 #3 // Optional: Drider and Dark Treant Enemies: 2.3
~WILLOWISP/WILLOWISP.TP2~ #0 #5 // [CHEAT] Enable shaman stronghold for all classes: 2.3
~YVETTE/SETUP-YVETTE.TP2~ #0 #0 // Yvette Romance - BG2 Romance Character: 5.1
~YVETTE/SETUP-YVETTE.TP2~ #0 #1 // Yvette Romance - alternative class (Pure Heartwarder): 5.1
~WHITEQUEEN/WHITEQUEEN.TP2~ #0 #0 // Colours of Infinity - The White Queen -> Yes, but don't patch the existing save games: 6.93
~ALABASTERSANDS/ALABASTERSANDS.TP2~ #0 #0 // Alabaster Sands: the new area of Athkatla -> Yes, but don't patch existing save games: v1.1
~BRIDGESBLOCK/BRIDGESBLOCK.TP2~ #0 #0 // Athkatlan Grounds: The Bridge's Block: 1.6
~EILISTRAEE/SETUP-EILISTRAEE.TP2~ #0 #0 // Eilistraee's Song -> Yes, but don't patch the existing save games: 7.3
~INNERSHADE/SETUP-INNERSHADE.TP2~ #0 #0 // Colours of Infinity: Innershade -> Yes, but don't patch the existing save games: 11.1
~ISNF/ISNF.TP2~ #0 #0 // Colours of Infinity: I Shall Never Forget: 6.1.1
~OOZE/OOZE.TP2~ #0 #0 // Athkatlan Grounds: The Ooze's Lounge - a new area under Athkatlan Slums: 2.93
~SOUTHERNEDGE/SOUTHERNEDGE.TP2~ #0 #0 // Southern Edge: the new district of Athkatla -> Yes, but don't patch the existing save games: 4.2
~TANGLEDISLE/TANGLEDISLE.TP2~ #0 #0 // Athkatlan Grounds: The Tangled Oak Isle -> Yes, but don't patch existing save games: v4.1
~TOTDG/TOTDG.TP2~ #0 #0 // Colours of Infinity: Tales of the Deep Gardens -> Yes, but don't patch the existing save games: 12.9
~WHINHILL/WHINHILL.TP2~ #0 #0 // The Journey to the Whin Hill - a Baldur's Gate 2: EE quest -> Yes, but don't patch existing save games: v1.0
~WHINHILL/WHINHILL.TP2~ #0 #2 // The Journey to the Whin Hill: add the optional minor joinable companion - Afu-Zuuvi: v1.0
~WHINHILL/WHINHILL.TP2~ #0 #3 // The Journey to the Whin Hill: Player-Initiated Dialogues for the optional companion - Afu-Zuuvi: v1.0
~SETUP-EASE.TP2~ #0 #0 // Infinite Weapon, Potion and Ring/Amulet Stacking
~SETUP-EASE.TP2~ #0 #13 // Unlimited Bag of Holding (Blucher)
~SETUP-EASE.TP2~ #0 #14 // Multiple Strongholds (Baldurdash)
~SETUP-EASE.TP2~ #0 #16 // Keep Drizzt's Loot, Disable Malchor Harpell
~SETUP-EASE.TP2~ #0 #26 // Low Reputation Store Discount (Sabre)
~SETUP-EASE.TP2~ #0 #28 // Rest Anywhere (Japheth)
~IMPROVEDANVIL/SETUP-IMPROVEDANVIL.TP2~ #0 #0 // Improved Anvil: v6.6_BETA
~IATWEAKS/SETUP-IATWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #100 // NPCs will not complain about reputation and leave: v1.02
~IATWEAKS/SETUP-IATWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #101 // Identify all items: v1.02
~IATWEAKS/SETUP-IATWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #103 // Disable hardened spellhold: v1.02
~IATWEAKS/SETUP-IATWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #104 // Remove traps & locks: v1.02
~IATWEAKS/SETUP-IATWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #300 // The Gypsy questline and the Limak encounter are available for non-mage protagonists: v1.02
~IATWEAKS/SETUP-IATWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #301 // The Shimmering Light and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly quest lines are available for non-ranger protagonists: v1.02
~IATWEAKS/SETUP-IATWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #302 // Non-essential class- and kit-based drops are available to all protagonists: v1.02
~IATWEAKS/SETUP-IATWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #303 // Mage- and ranger-specific rewards and crafted items are available for all protagonists: v1.02
~IATWEAKS/SETUP-IATWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #200 // Custom kit: Imoen -> Riskbreaker: v1.02
~IATWEAKS/SETUP-IATWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #204 // Custom kit: Valygar -> Vagrant: v1.02
~IATWEAKS/SETUP-IATWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #206 // Custom kit: Nalia -> Fighter->Mage: v1.02
~IATWEAKS/SETUP-IATWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #210 // Custom kit: Sarevok -> Berserker: v1.02
~IATWEAKS/SETUP-IATWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #211 // Custom kit: Korgan -> Barbarian: v1.02
~IATWEAKS/SETUP-IATWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #213 // Custom kit: Keldorn -> Undead Hunter: v1.02
~IATWEAKS/SETUP-IATWEAKS.TP2~ #0 #214 // Custom kit: Anomen -> Ranger->Cleric: v1.02

This post has been edited by lroumen: Jul 14 2023, 12:28 PM

[ed boy]

I am playing with all of Lava's quest mods installed. They are so far all compatible. I must say that there are a few items that are maybe too good for IA AI, being that they give early high enchantment weapons, some immunities (as to silence) and sometimes casting speed or attack speed.

I've had a good experience with Lava's mods and IA. The only one that I'd be cautious with is Tales Of The Deep Gardens:

• There is one fight (the colour black) that uses an enemy that IA improves, which is a massive difficulty spike in the quest
• At one point, the game offers you the choice of a colour's blessing. It's not clear what each one does, but one of the options improves casting speed and the other improves APR. These two are quite a bit more powerful than the others, and should probably be avoided.

Ed, thanks for the summary. I think Critto and I fixed the potion stacking in either 6.5 or tweaks, so hopefully that isn't an issue for people anymore. Besides the overpowered item issues, do you think Shadows over Soubar would function with IA? Have you tested it?

I tried it several years ago with an earlier version of IA, and I wouldn't recommend it:

• The mod is one of the earliest big BG mods, and it shows in how fragile a lot of the scripts are and how clunky a lot of its mechanics are
• Pretty much every high tier vanilla item (eg robe of vecna) has copies spread around random containers that can be picked up without issue
• There is an NPC about halfway through the main quest who can permanently increase your weapon proficiencies. There is no cost to this or restriction on how often you can do it, so with five minutes you can give every one of your party members grandmastery in every weapon.
• There is a sidequest where after a moderately difficult fight (easy by IA standards), you are rewarded with four million XP

[lroumen]

I did not notice any spike with Black, but I was already at 2.5M XP when I did it, simply because I forgot about TotDG.
I think I chose the elemental resistance or the hp bonus. I recommend to test them one by one. most are obvious wat you gain.

[ed boy]

A list of each of the colour's effects can be found at the bottom of this page. Grey is the strongest by far, with grey and green being the two that I consider too strong.

[bulian]

I've updated the first post with a long assessment of technical compatibility based on a recent playthrough that I did as well as from input that lroumen and edboy provided. Please add other input to this if you have it and I'll update the first post!

Critto, would you mind stickying the topic?

This post has been edited by bulian: Dec 15 2023, 07:21 AM

[critto]

OK. Thanks for the effort put into this. Hope this will be useful.

Reminder to the players to be aware that this still might produce technical issues in which case the recommended course of action would be to uninstall the offending mod because the task of maintaining compatibility is a hard one to perform with the very limited time we have.