I was bit concerned that it may be bit difficult since I had attempt to play Baldur's Gate 2, which I had borrowed the discs from friend, before and it was very challenging for me. I don't think I had pass the introduction area in BG2. However, I'd love to give this game a try because of its reputation.

It doesn't really help that I just got into gaming last Jan so I'm somewhat novice at those type of games.

I have seen someone mentioned that Planescape Torment would be ideal for beginners for this type of game with this type of engine.

Any suggestions? Thanks for your time.

BG actually isn't all that hard, besides, you can change difficulty. As per usual, I recommend to wait 'till they release BG 2 and use some MODs (if you are interested, I'll link you to them, especially good is one adding party banters which adds tons of personality)


Planescape is .... Well, not easy, really. It is dialogue-heavy, but combat can get quite hard in the game, when it comes.First BG seems way easier to me. And yes, the introuctory dungeon in BG2 was quite hard.

Just remeber saving is your friend. Quick save is good for traveling, but keep a variety of saves in the normal slots. Keep your ranged attackers (including mages with darts) full of ammo or they will go try and get up close and personal at the worst times. Don't try to loot everything, its impossible, just keep the good stuff and the stuff with high prices. Once you get accustomed to the combat it really isn't that hard. And if all else fails its easy to enable the cheat console and make a few extra potions or other items.

BG has a slower pace and less complex combat.
But both are rpgs and not very difficult compared to strategy games. Outcome depends a lot on lucky dice rolls. You can save and reload every few seconds until you're lucky enough to win, you can also use your brain or ask in the forums if something is hard, there are even cheats.

PST combat is easier (at least if you create a powerful character) since the game is more focused on story.

Thanks for the comments, guys. I truly appreciated it a lot.

Fen, I'll be sure to adjust the difficulty if I ever decide to get BG1.

Rab, thanks so much for the useful advice. I'll keep them in mind if I ever get BG1.

Kmonster, would you recommend PST for someone like me who has virtually zero experience with this type of games? I don't mind heavy texts and story in games at all.

By the way, I found the beginning/intro chapter of BG2 much harder, slower and less satisfying than the beginning of BG1, so it is completely understandable the experience you had given that it was your first time with a D&D/IE game. It may be even so because the sequel stars off assuming some level of past experience while BG1 does not.

The first game of this type I played was BG1, and I had no problem learning the rules, but I had to start over after some time because I needed a new character.

Between BG1 and PST just research what type of game they are and choose depending on what type of gaming experience you are after. They share the engine but that is practically it. You will have no problem learning how to play and enjoy them both, even if you are a beginner. They are designed that way!

Happy gaming ;)


EDIT: I forgot, in keeping with the tradition of old-school rpgs, they are also designed in a way that ideally you will READ THE MANUAL for an enjoyable and trouble free gaming experience.

Blop,

Thank you so much! I'm going to get BG1 and PST for sure.

Much appreciated it. XD

Well yes, but with combat-focused character, you just won't get that much out of the story :-/ There are quite difficult parts of the game where it throws mobs of enemies against you...

If you're willing to dive into this strange setting you should be able to handle the games.
If you distribute your stat points wisely (max con and wis) it's no problem getting both a powerful character and most of the story in PST.
A difficulty for getting used to such games might be that you'll feel lost when you have lots of options to choose, lots of areas to explore and lots of people to talk to, but you can get guidance in the forums or use some maps or walkthroughs (if you're desperate) to help you.

Be careful about turning down the difficulty, you get less XP which will make your character weaker on the long run, so do this only for very hard battles and set it back to normal afterwards.

Well if you're gonna go for Wisdom and Constitution, make sure to boost your intelligence and charisma as much as possible via level-ups, along with throwing some MORE points into wis. High 'mind' stats allow for more options during dialogue - well, hight strengh and such do as well, but you won't get as much interesting information that way.

Baldur's Gate is a great intro to these games. It's the first one I played years ago, and maybe it's just nostalgia, but it's also one of my favorites. The beginning of the game is a tutorial "prologue" part in Candlekeep, and is a safe area to learn the game.

My suggestions would be: read the manual, save often, and turn the difficulty down if you get frustrated.

Again, I truly appreciated the comments, guys. I truly had no idea how wonderful this community is.

kmon, thanks for the advice regarding PST. I will keep that in mind. Will be careful how I set the difficulty in the game.

Fen, thanks for the tip regarding the intelligence and charisma. That's very helpful to me.

eli, thanks for the suggestions. Appreciated it very much. :D