A little help on how to get started

[xxDangerxZonexx]

So I bought the game on sale and I have no previous expierence to baldur's gate either the first one or this one. It first gives me the option of 3 seperate ways to go. For a new player what would you suggest for me to start and any pointers or anything that I should read up on. Any insight is welcome.

[dirt]

Hi,

Haven't got too much info myself but I have found these, which has answered any questions I had.

Survival Guide - http://www.beamdog.com/files/bg2ee/bg2eemanual1.pdf
Melee & Magic Guide - http://www.beamdog.com/files/bg2ee/bg2eemanual2.pdf

[Terra]

As far as the main menu goes, it's asking whether you want to play

Shadows of Amn - this is Baldur's Gate 2. It's the game that comes after Baldur's Gate 1. You should start here.
Throne of Bhaal - this is Baldur's Gate 2's expansion. Some people say it's the third game. You will go into this immediately after beating Baldur's Gate 2 automatically - the option to play it raw exists for tradition's sake.
Black Pits 2 - this is some side module that comes with the Enhanced Edition. I don't have a clue what this is, but it's probably a dungeon crawler you can boot up if you beat BG2/ToB and want some dungeon crawling.

[xxDangerxZonexx]

Originally posted by Terra:

As far as the main menu goes, it's asking whether you want to play

Shadows of Amn - this is Baldur's Gate 2. It's the game that comes after Baldur's Gate 1. You should start here.
Throne of Bhaal - this is Baldur's Gate 2's expansion. Some people say it's the third game. You will go into this immediately after beating Baldur's Gate 2 automatically - the option to play it raw exists for tradition's sake.
Black Pits 2 - this is some side module that comes with the Enhanced Edition. I don't have a clue what this is, but it's probably a dungeon crawler you can boot up if you beat BG2/ToB and want some dungeon crawling.

So start with shadows of Amn alright.

[Flashburn⌛]

Black Pits 2 is actually its own seperate storyline and its a series of arena fights. Its the sequel to the Black Pits 1 from BG1EE.

[Atermi]

You should start with Shadows of Amn, as people stated before, and also mind, that you can play this game as an RPG, gathering the story-based team members on your travels, or as a party-based sRPG, creating all 6 characters from the start.

Also keep in mind that BG2 is a direct sequel to BG1, starting right at the point where BG1 ended. So you might want to create a character in BG1 and play through the whole saga with them.

[xxDangerxZonexx]

Originally posted by Atermi:

You should start with Shadows of Amn, as people stated before, and also mind, that you can play this game as an RPG, gathering the story-based team members on your travels, or as a party-based sRPG, creating all 6 characters from the start.

Also keep in mind that BG2 is a direct sequel to BG1, starting right at the point where BG1 ended. So you might want to create a character in BG1 and play through the whole saga with them.

What changes does this do with importing a character from BG1? Would this change the story alot to the point that it is highly suggested to play it that way or is it still ok to just start with BG2. Like I want to have a good expierence but I also don't want to have to wait for a couple months to play it.

[Lesmuets]

Characters from BG1 are a little bit "stronger", such as additional 1-2 strength points, than those directly created from BG2. But it doesn't makes significant differences because all the money, weapons,armors etc can not be imported with BG1's characters(and NPCs in your BG1's group). Also, Import character will not change the BG2's storyline. But if you want to go through the whole story and get deep insights into the background, start from BG1 seems a better choice.

[xxDangerxZonexx]

Originally posted by Lesmuets:

Characters from BG1 are a little bit "stronger", such as additional 1-2 strength points, than those directly created from BG2. But it doesn't makes significant differences because all the money, weapons,armors etc can not be imported with BG1's characters(and NPCs in your BG1's group). Also, Import character will not change the BG2's storyline. But if you want to go through the whole story and get deep insights into the background, start from BG1 seems a better choice.

Alright then I'll just get started on BG2. Thank you for the info

[Terra]

Yes, it should be mentioned that BG2 follows off a very specific "canon" playthrough of BG1.

You traveled with Imoen, Jaheira, Khalid, Minsc, and Dynaheir. You were Good-aligned.

You can't really import much. You start at up to 2 levels higher (9 instead of 7) if you completed the Tales of the Sword Coast content in BG1. You can maintain a few items that wind up in the hidden safe in the first level of BG2 - everything else is sold by Irenicus to pay for what I have to assume is his magic cocaine habit. You DO keep the stat boosts from the 8 Tomes you could find in BG1 though.

Really the only important thing that you can change, other than the stat boosts, is the pantaloons. Which sounds absolutely insane now but back in 1999 everybody was losing their mind over what they did. Turns out, nothing important.

[DocSeanson]

The intro dungeon you start out in will bring you up to speed on your role in the world's story. Alot of people might feel lost without having completed BG 1 so the best advice I can give is talk to everyone you can, investigate every possible approach and read the books you can for background info and possible leads on rare loot or party members.