Icewind Dale 2

[Moonshadow]

I recently aquired this game off one of my friends, and I just wanted to know which edition of D&D it uses?

[Trazoi]

Icewind Dale 2 uses third edition rules, unlike Icewind Dale 1 which used second.

[Mr._Blinky]

Yup, it's basically 3.0, though with some minor modifications to make it work better as a PC game. No PrCs, a lot of skills and spells are missing, etc. But if you know 3.0 then you should be able to actually figure the game out, unlike in IWD 1 where I honestly just couldn't wrap my head around the 2ed. rules.

[Moonshadow]

Actually, I'm an old school 2nd ed player, so I have some trouble with 3rd ed + >_>;;

[Triaxx]

It's actually easier if you're familiar with 2.5e from BG2, and 3.5e. It's got elements of both, largely because of the engine in one direction, and rules in the other.

[Moonshadow]

Its a lot easier to min/max in BG 2 though. I think point buy sucks, tbh.

Anyone have any good ideas for parties? I have no idea if I should go bow Rogue or melee Rogue, or even 2 weapon Ranger or Bow Ranger. So any help/ideas would be great.

[Greep]

whoo, been a long time since playing that...

But really a party that should get you through easily is just 2 fighter/barbarians (absolutely must start fighter and get 4 levels of fighter), 2 sorcerors, and 2 clerics. Vary according to taste :)

you may also wish to lower your party to 4 or 5 for better management.. but make sure you always have a fighter, sorceror and cleric.

I was insane and beat it with a solo thief, though. :D

[Tengu_temp]

I'll just add that the way point buy in Icewind Dale 2 works, there is no reason to go non-human if you do not want to start with 19-20 in a stat.

[Johnny Blade]

I agree with Greep, Sorcerers are incredibly useful in this game.
Fireballs and Otiluke's Resilient Spheres saved my ass dozens of times there (so Spell Focus Evocation could be of use). One is mandatory, and I daresay that a party could even take three.

Also, it's 3.0 if my memory does its job, so a rogue with a 1-level-dip into ranger is pretty good as well.

And, someone with Paladin levels. Fighters are great in the beginning, but you'll run out of good feats pretty soon, and there is a great one that's only open to level 8 (?) Paladins. I forgot what it was, though. Oh, and there's a great weapon that you can potentially find which only a Paladin can use, I think.

Druids are useless because shapeshifting is. Bards are painfully underpowered unless you give them a few feats (which they're automatically assigned in 3.5) and higher Intelligence via Dale Keeper II (savegame editor, can't find a link somehow) - then, they're just underpowered.


I beat the game with a Fighter/Paladin, a Rogue/Ranger, a Cleric and two Sorcerers.
(No sixth party member for faster leveling. I don't actually know if this game assigns XP based on party size, though, I just assumed it...:smallbiggrin:)

[lesser_minion]

For party build, I found that there are points in the game which become easier with particular characters and skills on hand. There are also points which become easier without certain characters - I've given some detail of the one's I've encountered, but I haven't completed the game yet.

I think the game tries to showcase all of the skills you can use in 3.0 - there is a section which is almost impossible without Wilderness Lore, and certain points become easier if you have a Paladin, a Monk, and a decent Alchemy skill. I think there is more, but I haven't actually completed it. Traps are best dealt with using Quick-save and Quick-load in my experience so far.

I didn't actually multiclass at all - my party was a Paladin, Ranger, Monk, Cleric, Sorcerer and Barbarian. I went with a few nonhumans, but the game gives elves no advantage whatsoever to balance the inclusion of an AD&D- style elves-cannot-be-raised rule.

[Dacia Brabant]

I do recommend using archery as much as you can since you get tons and tons of magical arrows in the game and since it's almost a necessity in many combats to open up with ranged attacks until the enemies get in melee range.

As far as classes go, if you're making a Good party do make sure to have a Paladin--but don't have the Pally do the talking when you get a quest reward. Your other front-line warrior can be anything but yes, 4 levels of Fighter are a must and a 1-level dip into Ranger is also useful for any melee (definitely make sure you have someone with Wilderness Lore). I highly recommend having a Monk on your first playthrough (also don't let them do the talking when it's reward time) because of one particular zone later in the game. Sorcerer is the best choice for your arcane caster, and you might consider a Bard for your skill monkey instead of a Rogue for extra spellcasting (specifically healing) and their music provides an almost-constant benefit. A Cleric is of course a necessity. Make sure to review the feats list in advance for what the prerequisites are, some of the more useful ones require skill ranks and class levels.

As far as races, Human is extremely good because of the extra feat, though Dwarf or Half-Orc are good for your Fighter since that's not a feat-starved class, or for Barbarian because of high Con/Str. I'd avoid anything with a Str or Con penalty for your front-liners or really anyone that you expect to get into melee. Avoid +ECL races for your casters at all cost since this will hinder you greatly at low level, though Aasimar is a good choice for a main Pally who wants to dip into Cleric. Gnomes suck. :smallbiggrin:

My favorite party was my Evil Human one: Fighter/Cleric of Bane, Druid/Barbarian (Bear Rage!), Bard/Fighter, Cleric of Mask/Rogue, Sorcerer/Monk and Wizard. I figured they were a band of Zhentarim agents infiltrating the North.

[Maxymiuk]

The area that requires a monk can also be won fairly easily by a cleric with plenty of Animate/Summoning spells.

The area that requires Wilderness Lore can still be done either through trial and error, or through talking to a few NPC's who tell you about the paths you should take.

My usual team is Paladin, Cleric, Wizard (banned Evocation), Sorcerer, Rogue, and either a Bard if I want to have a "proper" party face, or a Ranger.

[Cespenar]

Oh, and don't forget to give your bards and sorcerers a level of paladin, for that nifty +4 (or +5, depending on your Cha) to all saves.

[Mr._Blinky]

And remember this fact above all others for your cleric: ANIMATE DEAD IS THE BEST SPELL IN THE ENTIRE GAME, BAR NONE. At higher levels, you can essentially double the power of your front line with enough Animate Dead spells, to the point where you could probably just grab a bunch of clerics rather than fighters and just have them summon tanks for you.

[Tengu_temp]

I finished the game with a paladin (aasimar - huge mistake, LA sucks), fighter, rogue, cleric, druid and wizard. It was hard at first, when a single shot can kill you, but beyond level 3-4... let's say that, after resting and fully buffing, the infamous fallen heroes were a piece of cake. Buffs rule in this game just like they do in normal DND.

Well, the shadow dragon was quite hard.

[Douglas]

I beat the game with a Fighter/Paladin, a Rogue/Ranger, a Cleric and two Sorcerers.
(No sixth party member for faster leveling. I don't actually know if this game assigns XP based on party size, though, I just assumed it...:smallbiggrin:)
The game assigns a total amount of XP based on average party level and divides it evenly among all party members. This is extremely abusable in the following way:

Have a full party. Go adventuring. When you get enough XP to level up, only level up one party member. By the time the challenges get to where your level 1 party members really can't survive, the single levelled up PC should be able to solo everything. At that point, just park the extras in a safe corner of the map while your single real character clears a safe path for them. When your solo guy is level 7, you will be getting experience as a level 2 party. At level 13, as a level 3 party. level 19 = level 4 party, and so on. I'm not sure how the rounding works for this, but your average party level will never go above 6 even when you hit the level cap.

It won't be all that long before the increase from being so much "lower level" than the enemies you kill more than compensates for dividing it among 6 party members, and the extras make your solo character actually level up faster than if he were really alone. Once you hit level 30, which will happen well before the end even with a Svirfneblin's +3 LA, level everyone up all the way because you've hit the level cap. Proceed to massacre the final boss fight (and anything else before you get there) with ease.

You may now tackle the "super ultra hard" mode (I don't remember what it's actually called) of the game with a full level 30 party.

[Philistine]

Archery is pretty powerful in the early portions of IWD2, when the extra attack with Rapid Shot effectively doubles your character's damage output. As you gain additional iterative attacks, though, the value of a single extra attack steadily decreases; and at the same time, the increasing DR you'll be running up against mean that you have to keep using the most highly-enchanted arrows you can get - and those do run out. My first time through the game I built a Fighter as an archery specialist; his damage per round actually decreased from mid-game on. Dual wielding likewise gets weaker the farther in you get. Sword and board is viable for a Paladin with the Holy Avenger; otherwise, big two-handers are the order of the day.

[Remmirath]

The first time I played Icewind Dale II, I actually hadn't started playing version 3 yet, and I was really confused. Now they both make equal sense. (Although whenever I switch between Icewind Dale I and Icewind Dale II I think my armour class is wretched at first glance.)

I usually wind up with a cleric (usually a cleric who can fight at least to some extent), a mage of some sort (usually a sorcerer, because wizards tend to outstrip the available scrolls fairly quickly), and four fighters. Sometimes I'll have an actual rogue, but in Icewind Dale II, there's really no reason not to have a fighter with thief skills. There aren't even all that many traps.

Archers can be an advantage if they have a really good attack bonus, because they can pick off all the annoying weaker enemies while the main fighters take out the tough opponents. Generally two-handed fighters are the way to go. You get the most damage that way.

Two-weapon fighting is pretty pointless when you can only get one attack with the off-hand weapon.


And remember this fact above all others for your cleric: ANIMATE DEAD IS THE BEST SPELL IN THE ENTIRE GAME, BAR NONE. At higher levels, you can essentially double the power of your front line with enough Animate Dead spells, to the point where you could probably just grab a bunch of clerics rather than fighters and just have them summon tanks for you.

Yeah... it used to be, before the latest patch. I miss my Apocalyptic Boneguards. Especially annoying because you still don't get them in Heart of Fury. :smallannoyed:

[Cespenar]

Yeah... it used to be, before the latest patch. I miss my Apocalyptic Boneguards. Especially annoying because you still don't get them in Heart of Fury. :smallannoyed:

What, they changed Animate Dead? What do you get now?

[Remmirath]

Greater Boneguard/Zombie Lord's the limit now, I believe (it's getting rather late and I'm tired now). No more Cold Bones, Drowned Dead, or any of that.

As far as I know the only thing that patch actually fixes is a rather specific issue with some video cards/drivers, though (where it locks up in the inventory screen - kind of unplayable there), so if you don't have that problem I don't think there's any reason to get the patch.

[Triaxx]

Druid's useless? Not once you realize that two of the wildshape forms are extremely useful. Why take Dash when you can get Panther, with a speed boost, and a powerful slashing attack. The Shambling Mound Entangles opponents and is immune to electricity. So what is normally a difficult fight with 'Ghost Lights' is much easier with a bit of careful management. If anyone knows how to activate the Winter Wolf's breath attack, I'd be very happy. Supposedly it has it but...