Best area for grinding?

[heyjudebalmer]

i am in chapter 7 and looking for a place to grind xp to prepare for the final battle. i have heard durlags tower is good but the battle horrors are too strong for me right now? what is a good place to grind?

[D'amarr from Darshiva]

What are your character levels right now? Who is in your party? What are your troubles with battle horrors?

[Hopper]

The ankheg cave north of the Friendly Arm Inn is an endless source of easy XP.

[Syad]

Mutamin's place is a good source but i guess you already cleared it. The simplest method for exp, not sure if it still works for bgee, but it probably does, is to reenter caves and kill the respawning enemies. Should be really easy with bgee having instant loading screens now. I also remember respawning ogres and ankhegs but don't remember where they are.

[Sstavix]

What level are you now? You might be in better shape than you think.

[=M$= Oroberus]

Originally posted by Hopper:

The ankheg cave north of the Friendly Arm Inn is an endless source of easy XP.

This

If you went through everything up to Chater 7 and still ain't got the 161kxp limit, Ankheg Cave is your way to go

[Wicket W. Warrick]

Also first level under of Durlag's Tower.
But you can also play side quests, instead of grinding, there are enough XPs to reach the level cap.

[Centurion]

Originally posted by Hopper:

The ankheg cave north of the Friendly Arm Inn is an endless source of easy XP.

They are good XP, much better than what you will find in the sewers. Shells are also good money. I have encountered recurring battle horrors outside Durlag's Tower. 4000 xp each, not bad!

[Psychotic_Frog]

Unless something has been changed with the EE, you can easily reach the level cap without grinding. Level 7 seems the right spot for Durlag, I'd revise your team composition or itemization if I were you, the problem is not the levels.

Have you also done the mage island + the Balduran island?

[Noodle]

I recently did a playthrough with a full party as soon as I could get them. Hit the level cap well before chapter 7. Sounds like you need to do some sidequests. Durlags tower should be quite doable for you now, I usually hit it around level 4 or 5.

[Centurion]

Originally posted by Psychotic_Frog:

Unless something has been changed with the EE, you can easily reach the level cap without grinding. Level 7 seems the right spot for Durlag, I'd revise your team composition or itemization if I were you, the problem is not the levels.

Have you also done the mage island + the Balduran island?

Several posters have correctly stated the level cap for BG1. However,...

If a player has installed SoD the XP limit goes to 500K and I have recently verified (current playthrough) that this does seem to apply in BG1. My PC had 255K at the start of SoD. So, if you are playing with a higher XP cap (SoD) or no cap (Tweaks) then grinding can raise you above the 161K, by a substantial amount. And even then, it's not really cheesing Sarevok as he is, I think, 15th level, way above what you can achieve with SoD installed.

[Wicket W. Warrick]

Originally posted by Centurion:

If a player has installed SoD the XP limit goes to 500K

Yes, but only when playing SoD, so in BG1 the limt is still 161k.

[Psychotic_Frog]

Originally posted by Centurion:

Several posters have correctly stated the level cap for BG1. However,...

If a player has installed SoD the XP limit goes to 500K and I have recently verified (current playthrough) that this does seem to apply in BG1. My PC had 255K at the start of SoD. So, if you are playing with a higher XP cap (SoD) or no cap (Tweaks) then grinding can raise you above the 161K, by a substantial amount. And even then, it's not really cheesing Sarevok as he is, I think, 15th level, way above what you can achieve with SoD installed.

You don't need to go past the cap anyway. A 161K xp party prebuffed with Haste can melt Sarevok in a couple seconds. Aec'Letec took me a couple reloads though, but still very doable. The game is fairly easy, there's absolutely no need for grinding as long as you do the content in the proper order.

[Vambran]

Start game. Don't Recruit or Disband in safespot any party members. Head to Mutamin's Garden area east of Temple. Korax is a ghoul top left of screen. Recruit him. Save game. Now find and kill all the greater basiliks and as many lesser ones before time runs out and Korax goes beserk. Should be around lvl 5 or so.

You are now strong enough to solo the ankhegs at the farm north of friendly arm inn up to EXP cap.

Go back and pick up / recruit your party members and start the game as normal but at max lvl. Should take you less than hour to do all this.

[Centurion]

I just remembered one more area: The Wyvern Cave in Cloakwood will spawn regular wyverns every time you try to rest. You get decent XP and the mage in High Hedge will buy all the extra wyvern skulls. Not really better than the Ankheg Farm, but just some variety.

[Daniel]

Easiest grind in the game is to petrify greater basilisks over and over.

1. Get the cloak from the fat guy in Beregost Inn (the one where some other guy picks a fight with you downstairs)
2. Grab every Stone to Flesh scroll from high hedge and other easy to reach temples
3. Get someone with Protection from Petrification
4. Go to the basilisk badlands (can technically also do it at Durlags Tower)
5. Cast PfP on yourself
6. Charm a basilisk with the cloak
7. Cast PfP on your charmed basilisk
8. Pull another basilisk (kite it back a little you don’t want to engage 2)
9. Petrify it with your basilisk
10. Use a scroll of StF on it

Rinse and repeat

Now, I know what you’re gonna say. If you do this then just save yourself the trouble and use the console.