BG II sidequests are one of the things that make it so immersive. It's like you're in a real/tabletop campaign.

The ambient sound in Bg2 especially in the cities is some of the best in a game even today

I picked up this game for the first time ever 2 weeks ago. Giving Elden Ring a break and playing the old RPGs I never got to. Not only am I loving this 26 yo game, I'm also amazed at how much content there is for it on the tube. This channel and the dude that does 4 hour class/race/weapon rants are great. Thanks boss

The reason strongholds arent present in Bg1 is because in AD&D your PC doesn't get a stronghold until level 9+. Also, strongholds were a feature of D&D from its inception in the 70s through to the end of the AD&D era in 2000.

BG II companions too - they feel like "real" characters due to the depth of their quests and personal chats and romances.

The wizard-duals in BG2 are one of the best slices of RPG combat I've ever played.

what i dont like in BG1 is the compaion-pairs , if you kick one out you kick two out jaheira&Khalid,Xzar&Montaron, minsc&Dynaheir...

I'm not familiar with D&D that very much but I read somewhere that when you are on the highest level that character can be, you are some kind of a legend ( like Drizzt). That is what i felt with the continuation from BG1 to BG2. From killing ogres outside Frendly Arm Inn to killing Ballspawns and everything you visit along the way in BG2. Games are very complimentary with each other. In the end, you feel like a legend or something much more so. Like a myth.

Mortismal my good man - love your videos.

the exploration of bg2 reminds me of the witcher 3 were you had to do quests to be able to go to different regions and making exploration like that feels more immersive

I've never even opened up BG2, I didn't realize the level/experience cap was so vast.

An excellent comparison and hopefully one that potential new players can find useful when managing their expectations. On a more personal note, these exact 5 differences (and the map/exploration and the level/experience cap to be more specific) are why i've replayed BG1 much more then BG2. More then a dozen times for the former (and playing a campaign now as we speak, a MC half-elven fighter-mage for the first time) and only a few times (like 3-4) for the latter, and once, only once through the entire Throne of Bhaal. Like you, i find the exploration of BG1 much more rewarding and more inline with the classes i usually play. To add to that, the way the "random" encounters and mini quests are interspersed in BG reminds me more of he pen and paper adventures. You travel from place to place, you use those places as adventure hubs and you solve local problems. Also, from what i've read of the 2nd edition advanced DnD books, the game doesn't land itself well to high level play. We are talking here about a system originally designed for levels 1 to 10 and then expanded to level 20. Everything above that was highly optional and even later an addition. That's why most of the classes (except for magic users) didn't really have much to do on leveling up above level 10. Now, BG1 stops just a couple of levels shy from 10, but it illustrates the richness, dynamics and balance of the 2nd edition the best. I know most of the fandom consider BG2 to be the better game because of the story, NPC's and side quests, some perhaps even for the power fantasy aspect, but from an implementation point, as an avid pen and paper player, i think BG1's game play just blows BG2 out of the water. To any adventurous new souls out there, i recommend Icewind Dale 1. This is a much smaller game then either BG, but it's based on the same lore and ruleset as BG. Yes, it too ditches the exploration, BUT it implements the 2nd edition DnD (under a normal game session, i.e. no grinding) up to levels 12-15. That is, the core levels, and just a few levels above, to give you the taste of the high power play, but not at the risk of the tedious levels 10-20 for the non-caster classes. And the atmosphere, the music and the lore are GREAT. Easily among the best if not the best Forgotten Realms game ever made in that regard. They also implemented some of the Druid, Mage and Cleric spells that never made into the Baldur's Gate series, neither 1 nor 2. Have you ever played the Icewind Dale games?

Didn't even know there was a stronghold feature in BG2 that varied based on your class. I was always a fighter, and I don't think I even completed the stronghold quests/// rushed off to the end game too quick.

Great job throwing the video together! Very informative and giving some insight without spoilers 👍 I am in the loop of buying the enhanced editions. Whats your take on the siege of the dragonspear dlc? May you wonder in wisdom and have an amazing day as well 🖖

Ruby ray of reversal never forget

Loved the class-specifics in BG2, hoping to get something akin to it in BG3

I did not have a stronghold, the game glitched as I dual class from fighter to mage a bit into the prologue so the game did not know what stronghold.to give me, I think it said the hold but I never got news from it or errands when I visited! Your videos made me start a new adventure throug BG, SoD and BG2 in my phone, playing as a bard (the Canon class for me hands down)

Strongholds were in the system from first edition. They were high level though, and so it is BG1/2.

In BG 2, I like to rotate companions in and out to get their quests. Yoshimo spends a lot of time at the Copper Coronet.

I am replaying the entire saga now that it's on my ipad so this information could have been fixed in a patch, but in the original BG SOA you could get 2 strongholds as long as you completed the first (fighter) before you dual classed to mage or cleric. Once you dual classed you could do the second stronghold and still keep the first.

BG1 and BG2 are both superb games, but the adventures and quests feel a bit more freeform and emergent in the first one; while BG2 offers a more curated and scripted experience. I prefer one over the other at different times. 😅

Whatever you do, do NOT go to Watcher's Keep early! With my copy when I did, and went back to the city, my game started crashing when I tried to leave the Bridge District. I had to start over a couple times, until I figured out what was causing the issue.

There are certain things I like a bit more in 1 than 2. The map is one. But overall 2 has been a blast for years B.C. (Before Skyrim) and is a blast now. Believe it or not, I am new to the first game, BG1. Spoiler alert; If an assassin approaches you and claims you have been poisoned, listen to him. I sent him away and when the poison started taking effect, I could not find him. I am betting he was easy to find, and if I had the hours in 1 I had in 2, I would've known exactly where to look.

The exp cap for BG1 is 89k and for BG2 it's 295k. The values you are giving are the expansion and/or the EE values. A druid for example in BG2 vanilla, would end up at lvl 14.

Any thoughts on doing a Neverwinter Nights and Neverwinter Nights 2 series? They were (and still are) great games imho.

The locations / maps are much better. No more filler walking through the forest.

I hope Minsc makes an appearance in BG3. For me, it doesn't feel like BG without him.

Is there a way to revert BG:enhanced sprites to the BG1 instead of BG2 versions?

Having played a Mage in BG 2 (I did the Dual Class Fighter/Mage route with my Baalspawn) I initially found it a lot fun once I got my fighter levels back...but that enjoyment really waned by the time of Throne of Baal. The sheer amount of magical defensive spells you have to strip off your opponents (plus Armor Class becoming completely pointless) and apply to yourself quickly becomes tedious.

Nwn2 had a stronghold too nwn didn't

Support

Level 10 spell summon Plantar bg2?

I'm glad to hear that BG2 has better companions and side quests. I'm playing through BG1 right now and it's hard to get through (just started chapter 4). I love side quests and exploring and learning/caring about companions but BG1 is not good at any of those.

I'm playing through BG2 and am surprised at how linear the whole experience has been. Aside from Chapter 2, it's literally been as linear as a Final Fantasy type game, with little opportunity to really go off the beaten path. BG1 captured the feel of exploration far better.

cool

Where does your outroline: "May you wander in wisdom" come from?

The living, breathing world map/exploration is something I desperately miss from BG1...and I thought I was alone in that. Glad to know I'm not. :)

How do you get the strength to 25? How? Thank you!

I like romances, if the companion is unromancable I'd invent romance in my head :-)) Still feel some warmth towards my RPG sweethearts: Bronwen, Nalia, Aribeth, Qara :-)))

Hello! Keep doing xd

in terms of being openended and offering more choices to complete your quests baldurs gate 2 is superior. you get alot more replay value in bg2 . and there are more than enough ways too complete your quests kinda like fallout

What are most of your vids around 10 mins or so?

U knwo, I say either Stronghold Simulator or Adventure RPG. Never liked this kind of mixupping.

Dual classing sounds terrible, as well as nonsensical. You can be, say, a competent fighter who wants to learn cleric spells. Makes sense that you’d start at level 1 cleric. It even makes sense that you’d stop leveling your fighter skills as you focused on you theology studies. Why the hell would you completely forget how to hold a sword? More importantly, how is that fun or effective? It’s just a shitty version of multiclassing where your character suck for twice as long as normal I assume it’s not like this in D&D anymore

They're different games op