So You Want To Play Baldur's Gate 1...(New Player Guide)

[@easye9186]

I do. I do want to play BG1

[@Chronz]

I'm just now learning of this game, I forgot why but is it any good?

[@tortilla6960]

@@Chronz yo, so how was the game? how did the game? Is it good? Because i actually brought the game this morning from Play store Because its on discount

[@hubert9841]

Yeah, game is good but you need to rtfm (read the fucking manual). BG 1 is quite simple becouse it is a low level adventure.

[@sanderssmokes]

I've been playing this game since the late 90'

[@loterrex9139]

@@sanderssmokes Mee too

[@LadyDoomsinger]

Baldur's Gate 1 was my first RPG experience. Not being a native English speaker, I had almost no idea what was going on or what any character was saying for the first 2 years of playing it, but I was hooked. Coming back to it in the Enhanced Edition I got to fully appreciate the story and dialogue, and realized how much I had missed of what was going on, just because of the language barrier.

[@theonielson1007]

That's amazing! I'm glad the experience was rich despite the difficulty. Would you say exposure to this game helped you learn the language?

[@LadyDoomsinger]

@@theonielson1007 Possibly. I was exposed to a lot of English growing up, so I picked it up fairly quickly. Movies, video games, even every day phrases and technical terms were often in English just because of cultural influence.

[@theonielson1007]

Very cool. I'm glad you were able to revisit. Some of the characters have so much life in them. It'd be a shame to miss Jaheira's sarcasm for instance. Who's your favorite character?

[@LadyDoomsinger]

@@theonielson1007 I've always had a fondness for Xzar, just because of how weird he is, I like the whole "mad-genius" vibe. But I think my absolute favorite is probably Viconia - I like how she is Evil without coming across as a cartoon villain (like Edwin) or greedy mercenary (such as Kagain).

[@rockdoki8141]

@@theonielson1007 I was 17 when i played Baldurs Gate, and I'm absolutely positive that this game was the reason I passed my english language exam, just weeks before the deadline (i.e. high school graduation). I remember, i had a vocabulary next to my keyboard, and I made notes all the time. To this very day, this is my favourite game of all time! Wonderful nostalgia! Great music, characters, immersion trough the roof. Its great, that there are still people out there, who haven't forgotten about this masterpiece :)

[@cafespy6906]

I do not want to say how much of my life has been spent pushing the re-roll button

[@captainsmellyparts5579]

The reason I can't get excited to start a new game

[@gunnyhatfield2459]

I rolled a 97 for a fighter/mage Elf and about fell out of my chair, I was shaking so bad I had to step away for a moment so I didn't screw it up. One of the highest rolls I've ever had.

[@TheCoolerDrilis]

@@captainsmellyparts5579 The reason I'm dreading starting _Icewind Dale._

[@AveSicarius]

@@captainsmellyparts5579 Use an autoroller! You just leave it on in the background until it gets the score you want, do it when you go for dinner, and usually you will come back to a REALLY high roll. Oh, and it can save rolls in case you want to try again!

[@wateamstervideos2332]

153 times to get a 90 fighter. Hallelujah!

[@toasterandwater3866]

My advice is to take your time, if you’re like me and didn’t have a lot of experience with these types of games or DnD it’s going to be overwhelming, but once you get past that curve, you really appreciate the game.

[@theonielson1007]

Yes! This game is rewarding and worth investing some time and patience for trial and error. Any initial frustration can quickly turn to humor once things become clearer.

[@ether5386]

As a veteran of the game i'd like to share / correct a few things about wizard spells. 1. The level 1 "SLEEP" spell is a life saver at low level ( lvl

[@graysonjudd3582]

Yeah Sleep is definitely a life saver, although I prefer skull trap to fireball I just find it does more damage on average but fireball scrolls are easier to get so whatever floats your boat I guess

[@chengaming8120]

@@graysonjudd3582 also there are alot of wands of fire in bg1

[@LtLukoziuz]

@@graysonjudd3582 At level 10 or less they're identical damage wise, however, fireball stops scaling past that. Skull trap only stops scaling at 20. Also - "magical" damage is much less resisted compared to "fire" damage. But on the downside, skull trap's AoE sometimes is wonky to setup due to no clear visual, and is roughly 1/5th smaller compared to fireball.

[@graysonjudd3582]

@@LtLukoziuz I kinda forgot this video was only about BG1 so yeah you are right that they are the same although skull trap does have a bit more utility for as the name implies, traps.

[@alvercaine8893]

My favored strat in bg2 is assassin scoutinng, going back, fireball in the dark, backstab (with boots of speed) get far, stealth, backstab, repeat last 3 steps. If they got a mage backstab first. Real fun

[@idrum2loud]

As a fan of this from the 90's, thank you for this. Returning to this game after a long long time is less stressful because of resources like this!

[@pplr1]

If you played in the 90s you may have an old copy of BG1. I just wanted to point out a trick that can be done with a copy of the old BG1 (not enhanced edition nor the version that came with a BG2 package-this is the pre BG2 version of BG1). You can dual class a human with the correct attributes to a specialist mage while in an old version of BG1. I've done it multiple times. Specialist mages get a bonus spell and level up faster (only 1 class). Making a cleric or fighter into a specialist mage is very helpful for the mage as it lets him or her wear armor or use more weapon types.

[@sleepmnan22sleepman50]

BiG World Project гораздо лучше!

[@Mystra]

​@pplr1 BGEE is the superior version objectively has more content, more voice acting and more characters.

[@conorstinsonogorman7163]

I felt a literal singe of post traumatic pain when he skipped past the 92 rolling stats

[@jingthethief]

imagine doing this with a broken mouse that randomly double clicks.

[@moseskingofteabrews2021]

Me yesterday. Playing on console, accidentally went past a 93, 95, and a 96. :'( Half an hour later I did in fact settle on a roll of 92.

[@bangchanswebbrowsinghistor5145]

same hhaha

[@pplr1]

Sorry for just copying what I said above but since you are playing BG1 I just wanted to point out a trick that can be done with a copy of the old BG1 (not enhanced edition nor the version that came with a BG2 package-this is the pre BG2 version of BG1). You can dual class a human with the correct attributes to a specialist mage while in an old version of BG1. I've done it multiple times. Specialist mages get a bonus spells and level up faster. Making a cleric or fighter into a specialist mage is very helpful for the mage as it lets him or her wear armor or use more weapon types.

[@dariathelazy]

Finished playing BG1 for the first time recently, curtrently drowning (positively) in BG2... And, I if I had to give any advice to others about playing it, I'd give them very simple instructions 1) choose a 'normal' difficulty (or lower) for starters even if you've had experience with RPGs before, you can always go more hardcore later 2) take your time and READ EVERYTHING. don't rush tutorials, examine all the menus. embrace the combat log, and read it carefully if you start wondering why is it that you just got your ass whooped so bad or why your spell didn't work, etc. combat log is your friend 2.5) though pause button is your BEST friend 3) the smaller the THAC0 number the better it is, same with Armour Class 4) literally do whatever with the build. it's OK if you create a character with subpar stats, it's OK to choose whatever class, whatever race, whatever alignment... if the game can be completed with a shittly little 10-strength-10-constitution-having basic ass bard with dagger/shortbow profeciencies who dies in 2 hits (that was my guy), then you can have fun with whoever. It's a role-playing game, after all. Just follow common sense and don't throw characters with little HP or fragile build into the front line, form a party that can cover your weaknesses, and if your party is low level then treat every combat encounter as seriously as a boss fight. Save often. That's it, have fun 👍 [edit] oh, and 5) watch this great vid for actually detailed advice, lol

[@TzeiEm]

I bought this game as a child because the cover was so cool, but with my limited english and absolutely zero understanding of roleplaying mechanics, I never understood what the heck was going on and I think I never even got to Nashkel mines. About 10 years ago I came across a video similar to this on KZbin and it sparked my interest in the game again and after all those years I finally understood the mechanics enough to complete the game :)

[@kill_repeat8491]

This game is so addicting. Making classes and party compositions never gets old. I feel like there aren't many scenarios where there's much strategy to the combat though. Also, the Switch controls are amazing

[@_733t]

you're joking right? you must be playing on too low a difficulty

[@kill_repeat8491]

@@_733t I'm honestly not sure. I've thought about d9ible checking what difficulty I'm on, but just haven't. Durlags has been a good challenge, but I'm at the point in the game where I'm supposed to go to Baldurs Gate for reference

[@peaceprinceshaxi5978]

@@tictacterminator what about 1 ? I find i am still blasting through content, although now i finally use some of the consumables out of necessity and not for the heck of it, that’s fun

[@TheBoxingCannabyte]

try icewind dale 2 esp if you like the idea of seeing how people react to gray dwarves and drow :) (I play a drow barb/fighter/sorcerer and holy shit...so awesome, and have a Rock Gnome Monk and Rock Gnome Paladin and Drow Ranger/Druid and just....so fun!)

[@chrisharlin7096]

Great video. After making up what i thought was the perfect party, I run into a lot of characters i need in my party for certain missions, leaving my created characters on the sidelines

[@theonielson1007]

Absolutely, one of the best aspects to the game is the party dynamic. A pre-generated cast is hollow in comparison.

[@peoplespoet1974]

God....I got this again for my PS4. I played it back on it's release LONG ago on the PC. I was also a huge Neverwinter Nights fan as well as Icewind Dale. Thank you for these points. I know most of it as a classic late 70's D&D nerd, BUT there is always something I miss. Love how the gaming mechanics are n this classic. Detect traps? Screw rolling dice.....just click it and keep trying then BLING! It glows!! I think I can pick it.......

[@marcelpfeiffer]

Awesome Video, I first played BG1 when I was 9 and didn't get shit (mechanically speaking, I did understand the story) and now 5 years later I introduced my 10yo Brother to BG1 and it helped a lot! Thank you and much love from Germany!❤

[@simoanblarke]

- Around the 15th minute talking about Gnome Cleric/Illusionist: In ADnD2e, intelligence does not give any bonus spells at all. It governs the maximum _level_ of spells you can cast which isn't really a limitation in BG1; the amount of spells you can scribe in your spellbook; and the chance of scribing said spells to your spellbook - but not the amount of casts. (Illusionist gets +1 spellcasting per level due to being a specialist mage.) Wisdom however gives a boatload of extra spells to Clerics and Druids (18 WIS gives +2 level 1/2 and +1 level 3/4 spells, and it goes even higher if you boost it through WIS tomes etc). In short, gnome mage/cleric is actually a slightly worse cleric than, say, a mage/cleric half-elf _due to the stat modifiers alone_, and is an equal mage. It's only better because it's a specialist mage multi. (You also mention that gnomes CAN go illusionist multi earlier in the vid. Albeit true, they CANNOT go mage multi, just illusionist. Not a bad tradeoff, but this is more of a mandatory thing rather than an option.) - Alignment: You cannot really "deviate" from your alignment, there's no ways to change your alignment in BG1 IIRC (and only a very few scripted events in BG2). You become "Fallen" if your reputation drops too low. If you're playing a thieving murder hobo paladin but ensure you keep your reputation at reasonable levels, you'll be fine. (You explain this 15 minutes later under "Reputation".) - Speed factor: Low speed factor does not give extra attacks. It's the "initiative" of the weapon. Low speed factor - or bonuses to speed factor - will make you attack earlier. Each round is broken down to 10 segments, and speed factor is the amount of segments you spend swinging the weapon (similar to how many segments you spend casting a spell). I honestly don't know how this works with extreme high APR and extreme bad speed factor - i.e., can you _lose_ attacks if you use a too heavy weapon, but I think you can't - , but you can't get extra attacks. (Initiative, speed factors, and rates of fire are a beautiful, entangled mess in ADnD2E.) - Character sheet: Also has that handy "Customize" button. The inbuilt AI behavior, especially the toggles that came with EE, can be pretty handy, especially the one that makes your thief auto-detect traps. (You mention when you cover the Lantern button that you'll talk about party AI in the combat section... and then you put it in a separate chapter half an hour later :) May have worth an honorary mention when you reviewed the buttons themselves.) - During spells, you mention a turn is "a variety of, like 5 or 6, rounds". A turn is 10 rounds flat. There's no variance here. Two more comments (not only regarding just this video alone but some of your previous BGEE videos too): - You mention that BGEE is using the ADnD rule set which is second edition DnD. BGEE actually uses a heavy homebrew ADnD2E ruleset with a lot of classes that weren't part of "vanilla" ADnD2E. (BG1 was closer to ADnD2E than BG2 in this regard, but BGEE backported a lot of the "new gen" stuff from BG2 like kits, lack of dual-classing into specialist mage, sorcerers, monks, etc.) This means that yes, there's an ADnD1E too! Which would sort of make it DnD second edition. Which would make ADnD2E DnD third edition. And yeah, there's no vanilla "DnD second edition". - LoB is basically the BG flavor of HoF from IWD with the exact same modifiers, minus the XP bonus you gain in HoF. This means HP gets tripled and a bonus 80 on top, +1 APR, -5 THAC0, -10 or so AC, -5 bonus to saving throws, virtual bonus to levels (for the sake of turn undead etc). (Summons get less of an HP boost, x2 + 20 rather than x3 + 80.) I'm pointing this out because you sounded uncertain regarding the difficulty's actual effects.

[@Deathbrecht]

Thanks a lot, for your time putting it all together and posting it. Extra 👍

[@simoanblarke]

Thanks for elaborating on this, apparently my sarcasm on this point wasn't sarcastic enough lol. I was trying to poke fun at DnD for not having a "DnD 2E" per say. (I wasn't actually aware of the magenta box!)

[@simoanblarke]

This is actually a valid point, I forgot that ToB removed the spellcasting attribute requirement and limited it to spell learning instead. My point still stands tho, INT in ADnD doesn't give extra spell slots.

[@simoanblarke]

This is very true (again, the point I was trying to make is that speed factor doesn't modify APR). Valid point on the spell casting/turn (& aura cleansing). I still find it humorous that the only DnD3E Infinity Engine game mixed standard DnD3E initiative rules with segmented spellcasting times though (unlike games like NWN). I agree with you, the implementation isn't faithful but "works OK" considering the medium. (I was always wondering what the reaction modifier does, I never played ADnD tabletop, only collected the books - and frankly, I only remember some of the rules from Dragon magazines and not the books themselves, mixed with 1500 hours of Infinity Engine games. And we all know how "close" Planescape Torment is to actual tabletop ADnD!)

[@simoanblarke]

Totally fair. Since I've read a lot of ADnD2E source material (I used to be a huge sucker for Dark Sun and Spelljammer), I somewhat understand the system as well as the history, but I never played that edition. (I have an issue with class-based and/or fantasy games in TTRPG for some reason, but couldn't really put my finger on it.) If my reactions felt like I'm criticizing either you or earlier editions, I apologize. Take my beer! 🍺

[@강남훈-f7r]

When the new player GUIDE is almost 1 hour long, you know you’re gonna either love it or absolutely hate it.

[@joncarroll2040]

Well the manual was like 150 pages...

[@tjmoon1857]

I have spent so much time in the character creator trying to make sense of everything

[@viniciusedu5763]

fallout is worse. Believe me

[@orhn7496]

​@@viniciusedu5763Yeah... The military base man 😅 that radio thing killed me when I did find out.

[@starwarstimeline]

I've been playing RPG games since original FFVII from 1997 and I couldn't wrap my head around the mechanices of this retro classic until I saw your video. This is THE DEFINITIVE guide to BG: Enhanced Edition. Thank you!!!

[@ashurasama]

Honestly AD&D's rules are _really_ confusing and the game assumes that you're already familiar with them so it doesn't even explain the basics. Another gripe I have is that there's no way to plan your progression because there's zero ingame resources that allows you to see how things are going to be at future levels. Even basic things like telling you which class level gives you access to which spell level, THACO progression for each class, this kind of thing. I think that EE could have brought a lot more ingame to make the game more accessible.

[@kentknightofcaelin4537]

@@ashurasama imo, it explains more than people think. They’re just too lazy to talk to the priests in Candlekeep.

[@LobsterFusion]

It's honestly the biggest issue I'm having. I had the same problem with Knights of the Old Republic in that I feel like I need a glossary of terms for DnD to make sense of things.

[@starwarstimeline]

@@LobsterFusion Yeah, it can be intimidating at first but spending some time with the UI, experimenting with every setting, option, and icon you can click generally reveals a mechanic you weren't aware of before. Saving a lot is a great practice too.

[@hotarupl4278]

Yeah, I'm just recording a playthrough of this with the mods. It is a good thing people are actually still playing and remembering this legend. Great vid, bro

[@CmndaPnda]

Sometimes I just have your videos playing whilst working. Definitely one for radio my dude!

[@Blasted2Oblivion]

I'm just happy that BG3 doesn't incessantly yell at me to gather my party before venturing forth. Probably the one problem I had with BG1 aside from the companion mission time limits.

[@Alessandro90933]

I remember i was 16 when this timeless masterpiece came out, now i am 36 years old and still playing it once in a while.

[@puszinny2748]

this game came 24 years ago and your comment was 9 months ago so the math doesn't add up haha

[@LadyDoomsinger]

I was 9 when Baldur's Gate was released - though I think I only came across it a few years later, when I was 11 - as you can imagine, being that young AND not being a native English speaker, I had very little understanding of what was going on in the story - though I did pick up English fairly quickly due to cultural exposure, it is only after returning to the Enhanced Edition (while waiting for BG3) that I've gotten to fully appreciate the writing.

[@emilbrings3462]

@@puszinny2748 maybe he wasn't 100% sure of his age back then

[@FatherAbraham93]

watching in 1/12/2024 and this still valid guide love it just now getting into baldurs gate games and this guide really helped thanks made it to 45 minutes in the video then i started fall asleep lol so much info

[@vksasdgaming9472]

Ranged combat in Baldur's Gate is a must-have. Only in sequel does hand-to-hand go over ranged in usefulness and ranged fighting still remains viable right until final boss.

[@granteditsincorporated7575]

This has to be one of the, if not the best, new players guide I’ve watched for a game. No spoilers, full of detail and helpful tips. Just a masterclass. Now I just need to finish up plan scape: torment and start on my bg 1&2 (and then 3) journey. The only thing I thought this lacked was some bits about playing on console. I’m playing on the switch, which isn’t that different overall, but when you’re explaining the UI and say “press F1 or tab” it doesn’t relate since it’s ZL + analog stick. I’d LOVE one of these new player guide hour long (or more) videos on BG2.

[@daki3066]

He literally shows the endboss of the game in the last fight and kills him. How is that not a spoiler?

[@jorgezamora3345]

@@daki3066 no context

[@fabolousjada5070]

Yup

[@adamoberlitner1188]

I found this channel after returning to Baldur’s Gate: Enhanced Edition after bouncing off of it two years ago. Just wanted to thank you for your awesome work, I’m looking forward to seeing all the rest of your future work as well!

[@gimpygamer1315]

just started this for the first time not much experience in the genre and overwhelmed as a result. This video is really helping right now!

[@masq-nm9vy]

Jesus thank You man. I want o play bg1 and bg2 for the first time before bg3.

[@ukdnbmarsh]

this game is still holding its own even after all these years, so much so that ive decided to replay it again

[@seetheworldcessnavr]

Super helpful. Was a child's dream to play BG, Icewind and Neverwinter along with Final Fantasy, as I couldn't afford those games as a kid. Your video helps a lot with the introduction and I'm currently in beregost, but I'm hyped to continue step by step and play them through :D

[@nobodycares4321]

I owned this game on PC back whenever Windows 98 was the best there was. I just had to buy it on Switch. Excited to get started all over again!

[@Mystra]

You are one of the best channels for CRPG's. Really appreciate it :)

[@FrostyThundertrod]

I rather like the jester kit for bard the ability to confuse enemies with out a spell is really good. And the confusion lasts a bit so the jester can stop chanting and cast some spells. I also like the thief/cleric multi class since both thieves and clerics level faster then fighters and mages

[@bettsdn]

Man. Nostalgia. This game is what got me into D&D.

[@coltonbraddyllbrown]

Many a time my heart has sank when I over click and miss a 90 roll, I still have my 99 cleric ranger character file, had a blast playing it through the whole Saga

[@Customerbuilder]

I remember CL/Ra being the best from the original game, but I saw that it took a big nerf in EE. Namely, it followed the D&D rules and only allowed Druid spell up to Level (I think) 3. There's an easy way of changing it back, but it feels like cheating.

[@bradmenpes809]

I've been playing BG1 since it first came out and I had no idea the bonuses for increases in difficulty level applied to summoned animals/creatures. Thanks, M! Baldur's Gate is the game that keeps on giving!!

[@MintyCow101]

Just bought the game, ive never really played anything related to dungeons and dragons but i love roleplay games like it so i was super excited to see it for sale today. I just have no ides what im doing so guides like these are super helpful :3

[@zzodysseuszz]

I’m playing this game for the first time now and I’ve wanted to play it ever since I was a kid in the early 2000’s but I didn’t have anything other than an og Xbox and not a lot of money and lived in the middle of nowhere in an Australian forestry. So I didn’t have access to a lot of things including internet until recently. Now I can finally play it, your video is what made me take the risk of playing a game that’s nothing like my usually games. Thanks.

[@zzodysseuszz]

23 hours later, the day after I made this comment. I’m enjoying this game. I made an elf archer which the video recommended and I’m mostly avoided combat. Games fun, not gonna lie.

[@Sergioboy8888]

I have not been more excited about playing a game like BG!! Dude I love your guide you are amazing!!

[@Ender7j]

I still have the original box and discs from when this first came out. I remember feeling like a hacker when I found out how to change portraits.

[@curtisford8256]

Your extensive reviews are incredible. I don’t even plan on playing Baulders but I’m listing to all of it, just because I enjoy the reviews

[@nobodythisisstupid4888]

I started bg2 and swiftly gave up when I realized I had no idea how to interact with things or even start combat. I am very grateful that you posted this and got bg1 after learning about character importing. Now I just gotta play through these first two games before starting bg3 since I have had these on my backlog before even knowing there would be a bg3.

[@TheMeekMingeMaster]

havent played the first bg's, if story is the main thing to you then yea play the first bg's first, if you are more worried ab mechanics and stuff just play divinity original sin 2 cause its damn near the same game with a diff story, same combat style and engine i think, like breaking barrels to spill some wine then using a fire spell to light that wine on fire. idk the story of the first games cause i havent played em yet but its not a continuation story, makes its own characters' stories while being in the BG universe

[@brianmacgabhann5630]

Fantastic guide; focused, terse, but comprehensive. Many thanks.

[@sariahwilhelm1180]

I just downloaded 1 and 2 and I’m very new to dungeons and dragons so very thankful I found this! 3 looks so fun but I’m waiting for a good time to buy it so I got 1&2 for cheap to try out

[@Silvanfan]

I played BG 1 & 2 last year and really liked them, even though...omg...NO ONE prepared me for how rough it is when you first start off and don't know what to do. I got TPKd within the first five minutes of the game, because I Was Waylaid By Enemies and Must Defend Myself more than I could have healed, and as a cleric, I didn't have heal! I also didn't realize that long rests didn't work like it did in DnD unless you actually go into options and make it work like that, and WORSE, that your rest could be interrupted ;_;

[@brizzy1237]

I started bg1 about a week ago and been getting slapped up lol

[@stillmattwest]

The thing 5e players don't realize is that real D&D died after 2E. Every version since 3E hasn't been the same. These days, you're better off with an OSR Game like Basic Fantasy, OSRIC, or Swords and Wizardry. I don't mean "real D&D" to demean anyone else's game. People should play what they want. What I mean is that up until the end of the 2E era, different versions of D&D we're largely compatible. You could run an AD&D module in basic D&D without much conversion or really any. Hell, AD&D and Basic were so compatible that a lot of us mashed the systems together by accident. After 3e that all changed and each edition was its own game. And yeah, I'm old. Get off my lawn. Anyway, forget all that. Baldurs Gate 1 and 2 are still absolutely worth playing.

[@popperpoppler4569]

@@stillmattwest I remember the outrage at my local game shop when 3E came out. “They just made it easier!” “It’s all been streamlined!” and “Now ANYONE can play! It’s not hard anymore!” were all phrases I heard uttered with disgust after the new books hit the shelves. People are weird lol.

[@stillmattwest]

@@popperpoppler4569 that cracked me up, haha. I do think it was a huge win that the modern editions made the game more approachable. My issue with them isn't that. In fact, the games I recommend have much simpler rules than 5E. Basic Fantasy, for example, has everything you need to play including GM information and monsters in under 200 total pages. But the art isn't great and the layout is wonky and there isn't a unified mechanic. I guess the perfect edition just doesn't exist. The main thing I like about the older editions is how playable they are. In AD&D games were just as fast and fluid at level 15 as they were at level 2. That's pretty great. 5E seems like it improved on that vs. 3E but there are still issues because every class has a lot of buttons to push with all the class abilities.

[@popperpoppler4569]

@@stillmattwest Oh man tell me about it. I recently got back into DnD and learned 5E, not much of a curve exactly, but the characters all look like superheroes by comparison. 2E was like playing the first season of Spartacus whereas 5E feels like I’m part of the Avengers lol.

[@michaelwright3709]

I really appreciate the time you put into this video. Absolutely amazing. Thank you.

[@TheCoolerDrilis]

Really about to watch an hour-long video about a game I already beat a few weeks ago.

[@chriswhetton3584]

I remember the original version, you would summon 6 monsters at a time. Which was the strategy I used to beat the game the first time… summon 50 monsters to clog the screen, hide in shadows, sneak around for a back stab, run away, repeat 😂

[@MortismalGaming]

Yeah the enhanced editions cap it at 5 I believe

[@mbalazs3544]

My advice is this: start with 2-3 character.:Wizard (recommended) export import wizard is super useful he/she keep the spells in the book you learn once dn you can get identify from one quest in the start, learn it export and restart :D. 2 Cleric (must have)they can wear heavy armor like paladins 3 slot to start and with storm cleric you get a free/day lightning bolt. (how to get heavy armor in tutorial do some villany kill the guards and take than export import restart) 3 Have a Barbarian Tank(recommended) with long sword and 2 hand mastery, you can get an armor and there you have 0 AC 14-20 damage tank with 17 hp :D

[@SpencerPearce]

Great job covering the basics! Good overview! Played a little D&D, but never Baldur's Gate. Looking forward to it!

[@signaltome]

So 15 or so years ago I started DMing AD&D (tabletop RPG). Now I have come back to D&D with 5e, but things are slow at the moment which lead me to try and play Baldur's Gate again. Only... This now reminds me how convoluted and difficult 2nd edition D&D was! Why as low a number as possible? Why can only some classes have certain skills? Man, the d20 system is so much better, imo. Now I know that BG does most of the calculations FOR you but man, this is bringing back some bad memories. Welp, I'll give it a go (again) nonetheless. ;-) This video has been very helpful so thank you! :-)

[@graysonjudd3582]

The 90% resistance to charm and sleep with elves is really handy if you are going to play solo because getting charmed is an auto game over (I've only soloed once tho and I was an Elven swashbuckler)

[@TheBronf]

theres potions that can avoid being charmed. just gotta have some meta knowledge.

[@graysonjudd3582]

@@TheBronf I’m assuming your talking about the ones that give protection from confusion and a few other things as well as charm. I prefer to use those against things that confuse my character and besides they are pretty rare right?

[@TheBronf]

@@graysonjudd3582 Potion of Clarity can once be found at candle keep and 3 can be bought at buldurs gate. there also several other potions like potion of mind blocking that can prevent lv 1 - 5 spells from effecting you. summons can also take the hit for you with some meta knowledge as well.

[@darioidk2508]

@@TheBronf meta knowledge meta knowledge just gotta have some meta knowledge who asked

[@SaadRKhan]

@@darioidk2508 meta nuts

[@thenewaeon]

Just finished my 1st BG3 run and am going back to play through the entire series. As a fan of RPGs since the 90s, I'm surprised I missed BG 1&2. Just rolled into Nashkel and I'm loving it so far! BG3 really gave me a hunger for the more hardcore, lore-rich, old-school RPGs. Anyway, great channel you've got here! I've got a nice long list of games to check out now.

[@jackrevell4504]

Thanks Mortim! I'm starting a playy through in the next few days

[@longshotomega4258]

Hey I wanted to say how much I appreciated this video and it was really helpful in getting me started in a game that, to be completely honest, seemed too intimidating to play. Thank you very much!

[@Marshal_Rock]

I'd like to remind most of the new players that the old 1998 Baldur's Gate had a book manual that had all the specifics about classes, AC, THAC0, etc, and even though it was a bit hard to get into the game if you were not a native English speaker, but gods, this game with BG2 and Throne of Bhaal are really worth it.

[@loterrex9139]

BGEE comes with the manuals in PDF format. There are three with a total of 377 pages :D

[@joncarroll2040]

It was basically an abridged 2nd ed Players Handbook as I recall.

[@NixBuffaloBill]

Im going to have to come back to this video over and over again. Just started playing for the first time. Thank you!

[@EthCirah]

ahhhhhh a man of culture cleric / mage, much respect my dude. An awesome starter guide btw

[@jameshill2450]

I would not recommend playing a Sorcerer until after you have played a Mage. If you don't know the game, it's easy to pick the wrong spells for a Sorcerer and just be awful.

[@robertb67]

IMO sorcerer is way better and there are a lot of resources these days to help a player pick the right spells. Rolling a sorcerer, plus getting that ring hidden near the 2nd town you visit double the amount of lvl 1 spells one can cast. One can cast a lot more spells before resting, which is a lot more fun. You can pretty much make the entire first half of the game easy mode with the sleep spell.

[@AstarionWifey]

I wish I saw this comment sooner 😂

[@badbardsnetwork9100]

I’m not even playing some of the games you curate, I really just like the sound of your soothing voice!

[@blackrifle3742]

Just started my first game, having an older friend to guide me a bit helped a ton. So has this video. Thanks

[@ahanmondal67]

I have been into RPGs for quite some time, and I have been getting into Old school rpgs nowadays . Thanks for the insight, and now i really want to try it.

[@theonielson1007]

I can't recommend it enough! Just keep in mind - your first attempt at a play through might be rocky and that's perfectly fine. It's a tough game that rarely holds your hand. You'll learn as you go, and there are online resources to guide you if necessary.

[@roughknight5370]

I bought BG 1 and 2 thinking i wouldn't have any problems playing this, but I got 4 hours in and quit. A year later and I'm thinking of giving it another go, this was very helpful! thanks!

[@stephencolgan4123]

I have a similar story way back when for this game. Same for Witcher 1 😂. Give ‘em another go.

[@pacopuck]

After getting frustrated with Pathfinder wotr and hating the crusade, I looked this back up. I appreciate the info to set my mund up to play it.

[@lzrshark617]

Thank you so much for this; I was just about ready to give up on this game. Now, don't get me wrong, I've played difficult games with a lot of mechanics before. That wasn't what bothered me. The problem was that the in-game tutorial was such a horrendous info-dump that nothing registered beyond how to check for and disarm traps, because that was the only thing they properly fucking demonstrated. Maybe it was made for a different learning style than I have; either way, it was unbelievably frustrating. I'd been going in with previous D&D knowledge and experience, so I wasn't exactly flying blind, but it managed to make concepts I'd already learned confusing as hell. I'd started it up one night to relax, and ended up stressed out of my mind after spending at least 2 hrs repeatedly dying to a single wolf with 2 ppl fighting it, because I couldn't figure out how to do anything, despite having done the entire tutorial. Honestly, if I wasn't so interested in the story and one of my friends hadn't recommended it so strongly, I probably wouldn't have gone looking for outside help like this. A game shouldn't have to require external fan-made resources just to be playable. There are plenty of games with a metric ton of stuff to keep track of and mechanics to learn who give that information in much more effective ways. Info dump was possibly the worst choice they could have made beyond 'no tutorial/explanation at all, chucks you right into the game to figure 100% of stuff out for yourself'. I think the only kind of game that sort of 'good luck lmao' approach works for is stuff like Don't Starve, where the game EXPECTS you to die and has a sort of 'try, die, repeat; last a little longer each time' kind of thing going on

[@jblock2490]

the combat in this game is seriously glorious once you figure it out. it's actually quite simple too but there's just no explanation for how to really play this game "correctly." it's not very intuitive. you'll be playing on insane in no time lol.

[@lzrshark617]

@@jblock2490 Can I pick your brain for advice since you seem much more familiar with the game? The party's finally made it out of the intro zone and we're up into the mines filled with kobolds. We've got a full house with what feels like a good variety of fighting types, but the problem of the protag being squishy as all hell is becoming more and more of an issue with every step we take. Every time I take my eyes off of him for a fraction of a second, somebody elbows him in the ribs and he keels over dead. We've literally got a wizard with 4hp, and she's died at least 3 or 4x LESS than he has. I can't figure out what's wrong with him; he's basically a liability with a face at this point. He can't fight, he can't defend others despite being a defense class, he can't defend himself, he can't heal others, he can't heal himself, and he can't even manage to stay out of the way without getting sniped by a random arrow that I didn't even realize was in range. At this point, if the game would let him perma-die, he would meet a tragic 'accident' in the bottom of this mine, and the party would never speak of it again. I mean, no one in the town would question why we went in with 6 and came out with 5, considering how many people died in this mine. They'd likely just be impressed that *that* many of us got out alive. If I were to post his stats and stuff, would you be able to help me figure out what the hell is wrong with him? Because everyone else is doing pretty good at this point, it's just him who's being an absolute anchor and making it increasingly harder to progress any further into the mine because he keeps dying every 3 seconds. I've lost track of the amount of times that encounters were going well, only for them to be interrupted by the protag death animation bc Shrike got one-punched out of fucking nowhere

[@jblock2490]

@@lzrshark617 sure, what class is he and what are the stats? if he's a fighter id recommend half orc because they are insanely OP (19 str/19 con) but if you are trying to be slightly more RP focused as a human or something you wanna shoot for 18/90+ str and 18 con for sure. 18 dex as well. the rest of the stats dont matter for a fighter 99% of the time. also as far as archers go they are really deadly in bg1 for the most part. your best bet broadly speaking is to have someone with a lot HP and armor to run in first to draw fire and then throw a sleep spell off from your mage and that will usually knock out 50-100% of the mobs in the fight. once you hit level 2-3 your tanky chars will have enough hp to take a shot or two without issue while you get that sleep off. on higher difficulties the damage increases so you really have to use specifically tanky classes like dwarven defenders or barbs to do that kinda stuff (or find another way to get off CC/sleep without getting shot first) but the principle is the same.

[@lzrshark617]

@@jblock2490 Wrote down everything I could, since I'm not entirely sure which is useful and what's just niche stats since I'm not familiar with this game's version of D&D/was introduced to D&D by a different version and our DM always focused more on the story than on the numbers, which may be coming back to bite me now. In terms of gameplay, I'm definitely going for more RP focused, since I like to focus on being immersed in the story in these types of games the first time around. Thank you again for your help, I really appreciate it. Please let me know if I missed anything that would be useful. Shrike, Thorn-Ward *half-elf Shaman *Neutral good *Prot. from cold ------------- * Strength= 11 *Dexterity = 10 *Constitution= 15 *Intelligence= 16 *Wisdom= 14 *Charisma= 14 ---------------- Level 1 (so far pretty much only member of party who hasn't leveled up) * Proficiencies: Base THACO: 20 THACO: 20 Attacks per round: 1 Lore: 6 Reputation: Popular (13) Detect illusion: 24 AI script: passive ------------------- Saving Throws: *paralysis/poison/death= 10 *rod/staff/wand= 14 *petrification/polymorph= 13 *breath weapon= 16 *spell= 15 ----------------- Proficiencies: Axe+ Spear+ (both of which are his ready-use weapons (throwing axe specifically); tried giving him a staff as well early on, but that didn't last terribly long) ----------------- Armor class modifiers: *slashing= -2 ---------------- Ability bonuses: *to hit= 0 *damage= 0 *open doors: 11 *weight allowance: 70 *armor class: 0 *missile adjustment: 0 *reaction adjustment: 0 *hit points/level= +1 *reaction= +2 ----------------- Resistances: *Fire= -100 *Cold= 100 -------------- AC: 6 Studded leather ----------- Spells known/available for use: *armor of faith *entangle *spirit ward ----------------- Rest of party consists of: *Jaheira *Khalid *Neera *Imoen *Minsc (most recent addition) tried to pick up the orc guy we helped in that ravine, but the rest of the party started bitching about it so much that I caved and told him to go home instead

[@jblock2490]

@@lzrshark617 well the first problem is that since you are playing as a shaman that's not really supposed to be a tanky character. they are casters that wanna stay back and support the party by either buffing or crowd controlling or healing later on. they have a few offensive spells as well. 16 con will give you the max hp for that kind of char. 18 dex is always good to have because it increases your armor class so you want to max that on pretty much any character. if you plan to ever swing your melee weapon (which you don't really need to do as a shaman) or use a sling (which is always nice) you also want to have max strength. the other stats are essentially useless for a shaman so you can keep them at their minimum or just throw extra points into them for RP fun. cha *could* be useful if you are keeping him as the leader of the party and want to have him interact with store keepers and such however a mage with decent cha casting friends will end up with a much higher charisma to maximize vendor discounts. are you using an item that reduces your fire resist? because im seeing -100 there.

[@matgaming79]

Hell yeah, exactly what I did 1 year ago. Brings me back to my early 20’s! This game was awesome, loved the rework they did too.

[@Ricky-jl1wf]

Your channel is criminally under followed. Your content is amazing!

[@stillmattwest]

Dwarves are actually pretty awesome. The bonuses to saves and con and access to the dwarven defender class are all considerable advantages.

[@CrypticallySane]

A classic, I have fond memories of this game series. Over 10+ playthroughs of the games haha

[@Notsidgaming]

Found your videos when looking up pathfinder wotr stuff. I’ve been very pleased listening to all your guides. Hoping to play some bg1 very soon!

[@bryanscott438]

Thank you so much for putting the time into making this guide, super helpful, thorough and well explained. Much appreciated 🙏

[@dpiuo]

After playing Baldur's Gate 3, I wanted to try the first ones in the series. I tried for a few hours playing BG1 and I couldn't understand a thing. Thanks to your video, not only I understand it now but I can also play it. Thanks a ton for the video!

[@E1uisve_M4GE]

Just purchased for xbox. Excited to play it. Ill be coming back to this video often.while playing I'm sure . Thank you so much for this

[@MrBriPoppy]

Love the channel. Great stuff! Wish I had this guide way back when I first played Baldur's Gate.

[@echotheredeemer]

Your channel was a treasure to me just because of your voice, the way you explain all the stuff, and overall a very high quality of the content. In addition, I`m not English native person and occasionally it`s hard for me to understand what a particular person`s saying, but I don`t have this problem with you, you sound insanely clear to me. To return to the point, after I`ve watched this video, I`m finally about to begin my miracle run in this game, thanks to your hard work and this guide. This game doesn`t seem hard anymore.

[@johnace91]

I've never played d&d or anything like it before. I got this on the switch thinking it's not to hard to understand.... God I was wrong Thank you for the easy to follow guide 🙏

[@Acetyl24]

Btw, a little reminder and trick, the people that come in a pair (Jehirah & Kalid) will both leave if you kick one of them, however, if one dies like Kalid, you can kick Kalid and keep Jehirah.

[@JuanTorres-zo5xs]

Thank you for this, I’m playing this for the first time and new to this type of rpg game. I’m currently playing some of my friends all time favorites and this and and 2 I’m going to beat.

[@Hanz_Moleman]

BG1 + TotSC + BG2 + TOB are the greatest games of all time.

[@vksasdgaming9472]

Planescape: Torment is better when raw story is involved. Not as refined gameplay-wise, but immensely well-crafted story and final boss is insanely powerful, yet The Nameless One is even more.

[@jayhit4212]

This man cant stop wont stop. The content keeps coming! Keep it up!

[@aver155]

The pace and quality are crazy...

[@stonewall-bv2mq]

Thank you so much for this guide. I’ve wanted to get into baulders gate for a while now and couldn’t figure out a lot of the mechanics.

[@PhilippDemi]

Thank you very much for this video. I tried getting into BG a couple times and this is a great help. I only recently stumbled over your channel, but have been enjoying your videos a lot. Keep it up :)

[@sateg]

Best BG1 guide video ever. I finished game 2 times but i still learn something new :). I am planning to beat BG2 in near future (2nd time, 1at time was 15+ years back) , most of knowledge you provided here can be reused, perfect.

[@Seigmoraig1]

You didn't mention this but it really simplifies the Find Familiar spell, since it's so important to have it stay alive and it's abilities are basically useless, you can talk to it using the talk icon at the bottom of the screen next to your weapons and tell it to get in your backpack. It will become and item in your inventory and you never need to worry about it for the rest of the game

[@bgcharade]

I personally dig either a single-classed fighter, or a fighter/cleric, since most clerics in the game are either multi-classed with something weak, or are a pure classed cleric with less utility. As a new character, Fighter/Clerics are great because they also can wear heavy armor that Fighters do, and can make use of the useful maces, morning stars, etc. in the game. Half-Orc Fighter/Clerics are particularly ripped for an evil party. Dual-Wield Morning Stars with a 19 strength, put a high score in wisdom. Tank that can cast.

[@pplr1]

In BG2 I had a half-orc good cleric fighter. Did the Dual-Wielding bit myself. Some may find it odd a paladin tanked alongside him but it worked well.

[@Oskanwhitchfather]

If you want to play BG1, and 2, and Throne of Bhaal, DO NOT RUN A RANGER!!! At least, don't run a Ranged Ranger. In AD&D 2.0 a lot of high level enemies were outright immune to damage from any weapon under +3, some of the strongest needed +4 and +5 weapons to kill. You will not have the gold for the amount of +4 and +5 arrows you will need to beat Throne of Bhaal, let alone the later stages of the base game of BG2. Paladin, Fighter, Cleric, or even a Fighter/Thief or Fighter/Thief/Mage, or even a Fighter/Cleric. Stay far, far, far, far away from bows if you plan to take the same character through both games and the expansion for BG2.

[@theonielson1007]

Yes, you have to ration ammunition. Magic weapons and ammunition are expensive, but not prohibitively in my opinion. I would also point out the many benefits of ranged weapons in this game. You'll often deal with rough or impassable terrain, choke points, dangerous traps, and enemies equipped with their own powerful ranged weapons. Being able to fire at enemies from range is a vital asset. In fact, you'd be hard pressed to succeed without ranged weaponry. An elven archer is a very powerful character to have in your party. Same for a stone-slinging halfling!

[@WARisalliknow911]

your vids got me to start this up yesterday. thanks for this!

[@SwimmaaY]

thank you, just enough information that i can understand how to play the game. great guide

[@oChalko]

Really cool video, I was thinking of buying Baldurs gate 3 and own 1-2 but never finished them. This makes me want to go back and prepare for the 3rd game so I know the entire story! Thanks for all of the tips I feel like I'll actually know what I'm doing coming back to these games

[@MortismalGaming]

Glad you enjoyed it, hard to say how relevant the story of the first two are to the third yet though, it takes place 100 years later

[@oChalko]

@@MortismalGaming from what I've heard it connects some ways that might not be obvious yet. But time will tell, I love larian games though so I have faith they'll do a decent job. If not I'm sure some call backs will be there at least!

[@AamiraGehenna]

Hey look at that, I just got all the baldurs gates on steam a bit ago, so that's just on time

[@wb8156]

You're very well spoken! Thanks for this.

[@14112ido]

Thank you for the crash course. I’m new to the classic DnD CRPG genre and reading 154 pages of manual with a lot of numerical specification first before playing isn’t my idea of a good time.

[@theonielson1007]

Armor class and THAC0 are wonky but I just love it. Welcome to the forgotten realms!

[@yeast7485]

Only other similar game I played is arcanum, and for bg1 I decided to go with Thief and charisma build since its pretty good for arcanum. Mistakes were made

[@jameslee2043]

Arcanum was such a difficult game. Have to try it again. Was pretty hard from memory

[@jordon2074]

Late asf comment here But this vid was super helpful for my first playthrough that I'm starting up Thanks for the vids, really helped me find a passion for CRPGs in my late 20s

[@JayVon_Ro]

For some reason, ever since I tried the Druid Avenger class, I can't play anything else. I mean c'mon, a fighter/shapeshifter/mage/cleric? friggen awesome!

[@fakemidmid9213]

Glad I see this guide as a newbie in this game

[@Matthi42]

So good that those kind of videos exist. Although as a bloody newbie I went with a 82 roll (on normal), do I still have a chance to beat it and have fun? :'D Love it so far!

[@aarachus]

I played this back when it first came out but just bought the enhanced edition for ps4 & am on my first run thru. Thank you for putting this together

[@amyrockwell1260]

I literally love you for making this video.

[@lukeferridge4777]

As someone whos owned and played bg since it came out, the thing Id recommend most about bg1 in general is the fact its 2nd edition d&d. Not many people care about stuff like that, but what it means is its pretty realistic as far as the world you exsist in. Bgee is 2.5 and adds some novelty of subclasses. Beyond 2nd edition in general is the era of "i want to be a god" fantasy gaming. Which is kinda boring. If you find bg hard initially, its probably because your character can be adept, skilled, ect, but taking an arrow to the face doesnt discriminate, and we've all played stuff where something hits you that should have clearly made you not exsist anymore, but you've got 'that' buff or whatever so you're fine. So while there are other similar games out there, bg1 is a solid experience that wont disappoint and have variety in replay

[@torment4723]

Basilisk encounter = Instant uninstall

[@schwann145]

2nd edition is much more "I'm a God" than the editions that came later. Yes, it's easier to die, but it's also much easier to kill. And magic was never more powerful than in 2e.

[@torment4723]

@@schwann145 The thing is, the roleplaying part of D&D doesn't work if you don't have a GM or if you don't know the full campaign yourself. It's simply not a fair game.

[@lukeferridge4777]

It comes down to fun, and what that means to you. For me, 2nd edition is my jam, while plenty of people enjoy newer versions. If the story is good and you are immersed, nothing else should matter. While bg1's plot isnt without flaws and some plot holes, its still got enough intregue and drama without every explaination being just 'because magic and/or gods, dont question it'. The villian is physically powerful and dangerous, but gains real power politically and tyranically. A smart and powerful antagonist whos ambitious about real world control and could actually pull it off while keeping society intact is terrifying, more so than any bwahaing world threat. I also dont agree with the videos creator saying being bad isnt rewarding in bg1. Theres arent really any moments in the game, while actively playing as any alignment that dont suit dialogue options. Even helping resolve situations is often reinforced easily with monetary rewards.

[@schwann145]

@@torment4723 I was simply disputing OP's assertion that everything after 2nd edition is "I want to be a god" edition. It's not. Not sure how your reply is related to mine, tbh.

[@mikeestelle940]

Double half orc fighters, human paladin, elves thief and Helm priestess, and a human invoker mage. Just made a full party to play with. I play on core rules difficulty for now. Should be fun!

[@grundgutigertv6170]

I like to play sorceress. They might not have that huge pool of spells, but they have more spells per day that I really dont wanna miss. Kinda glad that weird reroll thing doesnt happen anymore.