Will I be able to jump into this WITHOUT playing BG1 ?

[BAKE DEEK AIRNERGY]

Like what title says, is this a standalone game as in will I be able to understand the plot without playing any of this series ? Thanks in adv for your answer.

[ÄmJii]

It's a direct sequel to BG1, but the intro movie and dialogues in beginning of the game will fill you in sufficiently. You might miss out some references here or there, but nothing really important.

On a sidenote, if you're not familiar with game mechanics then BG2 might seem bit overwhelming at first (especially spell descriptions). In that regard I'd suggest playing BG1 at some point, although other folks recommend starting with BG2 since it's bit easier because your character starts off around level 6-8 (level 1 characters are practically peasants and low level D&D combat can be harsh).

[BAKE DEEK AIRNERGY]

Първоначално публикувано от ÄmJii:

It's a direct sequel to BG1, but the intro movie and dialogues in beginning of the game will fill you in sufficiently. You might miss out some references here or there, but nothing really important.

On a sidenote, if you're not familiar with game mechanics then BG2 might seem bit overwhelming at first (especially spell descriptions). In that regard I'd suggest playing BG1 at some point, although other folks recommend starting with BG2 since it's bit easier because your character starts off around level 6-8 (level 1 characters are practically peasants and low level D&D combat can be harsh).

Alright, I think I will just start with 2. Hopefully I will be able to understand the story/plot/characters.

[Influenza]

If you have 1, play it on easy to experience it... I started playing it again for the first time since it was relevant and i forgot how brutal low level combat is lol

[Lechuck's Beard]

I would play through 1 and then move on to 2. Both are great games that desrve a playthrough or 2. But, as others have already said, you can play 2 without playing 1 and the game will give you a general idea on what you missed. Wiki will also give you a summary of BG1.

[Siddha]

Both games have a steep learning curve; but there is a lot of information online; guides etc.

[FAButzke]

10+ years ago, I started with the second one and could not really bring myself to play the first after that because BG2 adds so many things and felt so much more epic that when I started playing BG1 I immediately could tell that something was missing. You will be fine, trust me.

[Siddha]

I agree with FAButzke. BG2 is a far richer and more focussed game than BG1.

[Herr Kruelbar®]

I just finished BG:1 EE; and started playing BG2. I recommend playing BG1 EE as it is a continuation of the story and at nearly 100 hours of dungeon crawling, I can clearly state that it was worth it. as you notice the improvements and all the other fun things.

Either way, have fun and may your die rolls stay high!

[Sugam]

indeed, you will be missing a lot if you dont play BG1 plus you can roll over your things with you into BG2.

[Herr Kruelbar®]

Първоначално публикувано от Sugam:

indeed, you will be missing a lot if you dont play BG1 plus you can roll over your things with you into BG2.

Sugam has a point. You will also start BG2 EE at a higher XP level with better magical toys :)

[danconnors]

Your character will be much stronger if imported from BG1. My fighter/thief, just imported to BG2 has strength 19, constitution 19, dexterity 19. You can't create a character in BG2 that has a 19 in any category.

[Vengentz]

The character interactions are much stronger in the second installment and to me BG2 started the love of the company with team interactions and love intrests with companions.

Also you are forced into a story cannon at the onset of BG2, so you end up getting forced fed a version of the story that you didn't play yourself. Coming across characters that died in your play though and such. You will not carry over your equipment from the end of BG1 either.

The story is good but straight forward, and the real reason some of us has played though is the ability to find tomes to enhance your states, mulitple play thoughs (if you import your end game character to the start of another playthough) can result in characters you can't get though character creation.

And yea, low level DnD combat is a lot like "herding cats, who are blind, that hate each other" - Neera - Baldurs gate 2 EE

[kaiyl_kariashi]

I honestly perfer BG1+TotSC (vanilla, not EE) out of the Baldur's gate series. the main issue with 2 is that it becomes boring very quickly due to the drop-off in progression that 2nd edition experiences after level 10 (not to mention all the ridiculously broken items/spell/abilities that should've NEVER been ok'd for inclusion in the game in the state that they were (broken as in different from their source material versions for no reason and are either STUPIDLY overpowered (PI, Berserker/barbarian rages, WISH, just to name a few (mostly due to lack of disadvantages and/or their abilities being far FAR more powerful then they should be while allowing things the source rules explicitly forbid) but there's many many more) or so weak/poorly implemented it was pointless to include them)).

the Bigbad of BG1 is also just a significantly better written then BG2's villain. It's really only having David Warner as a VA that gives Irenicus any gravity beyond a generic evil villain with typical motivations. BG1's villain on the other hand has both a solid VA AND is what a well-written evil character should be.

the levels just feel so empty and pointless, where as in BG1, every level is a noticable jump in power (unless you're playing a mage...in which case you were borderline invinicble from level 1...your options for decimating the enemy simply became more varied and you had less reliance on consumables as your level improves). IN BG2, your items are where most of your progression comes from and due to that the monty haul nature of the game can get boring very quick.

It's not a terrible game though (despite being a rather terrible adaption of it's source in general...though this applies to all the infinity engine games so you can't fault just BG2 for it).......I mean it did give the world Jan Jansen, and the party interactions are ok though some are better written than others.

Though I do find the railroading story a large mark against it and undermines the sense of continuity, when it should've been easily possible keep states between games, or at the very least give you alternate starting party configurations based on alignment so you chaotic evil as sin character isn't told he played a 100% paragon of virtue with an all good(ish) party in the first game.

[FAButzke]

^Interesting. Almost everything you point as a flaw in BG2, I find it as a problem in BG1 and the rest are not flaws at all for me. Well, to each their own, I guess. =D

[ArchAngel]

While Irenicus motivation is pretty direct, the way he accomplishes his goals is pretty cool. That, his raw power and the great voice makes him immortal in gaming history as one of the most memorable villains ever.

Sarevok was also cool and complex.