How long should I wait before going to Spellhold?

[Demivrgvs]

Some of the spawns in the labyrinth are scaled, and fighting a lich when you've got nothing better than +2 weapons is no fun.

What's wrong in fighting them with +2 weapons? They can be taken down with +1 weapons too if they don't have PfMW up. Greater mummies are the real problem instead, as they need +3 weapons in order to be hit! It's one of the few occasions where Enchanted Weapon spell becomes useful!

[Guest Guest]

Complete everything you can (aka everything) in chapter 2 and 3. In chapter 6 it makes even less sense to do all those sidequests than in those two.

Then enjoy the railroad.

[CoM_Solaufein]

I pretty much complete every quest there is, that is takes place before Spellhold, before I head there. This way I have a lot of experience points and at a decent level with some nice weapons and armor.

[Guest Guest]

Thanks for the replies.

 

Since I'm not familiar with the game beyond chapter 2, can anyone else confirm that it makes even less sense to dawdle in chapter 6 than it does in chapter 2? Please try to avoid spoilers!

 

I've been looking at SCS II, and there's a component there that lets you raise the fee needed, so I'm thinking that this would be a good way to justify staying in chapter 2 for a bit longer.

[devSin]

Since I'm not familiar with the game beyond chapter 2, can anyone else confirm that it makes even less sense to dawdle in chapter 6 than it does in chapter 2? Please try to avoid spoilers!

Yes, the game pretty much barrels toward the end from late-Chapter 5 onward. You probably don't want to get stuck delivering 3 bastard swords and ale at that point.

 

Am I the only one who doesn't leave for Spellhold until about 300 days or so? Almost a freakin' year... there's no story/roleplaying excuse for it beyond BioWare's crappy design decisions. (I restore the original 50K/30K Chapter 2 fee to hook up Gaelan's and Bodhi's VO, but it's still trivial to collect the required amount.)

[Guest Guest]

Am I the only one who doesn't leave for Spellhold until about 300 days or so?

 

You seem to know how to enjoy your rest

 

I'm the guest from above who recommended completing everything possible in ch2/3 so I also take my time, about four months or so. Since chapters 2 and 3 are where most of the fun is, I don't see any problem with elevating them to even more epic proportions

 

In real time, about 2/3 of my SoA playtime takes place before leaving for Spellhold.

 

And I agree, that it's bad design decision, especially in regards to first-timers.

Galean's/Bodhi's price should be much higher by default.

[Guest Guest]

So is the fee the only thing that needs to be changed from a realism point of view? Once you get to Spellhold, do events/conversations there imply that you got there within a month or two, or does it not matter i.e. could the events at Spellhold have taken place a just as easily month or a year after Imoen was taken there? Like I said earlier, I haven't played this part of the game so don't know the answers to these questions.

 

Would some sort of mini mod be possible, which alters the events/dialog depending on how long you took to reach Spellhold?

[devSin]

So is the fee the only thing that needs to be changed from a realism point of view?

Pretty much. There's a bit of an assumption that you care to save Imoen (or at least follow the bad guy) and that you do so in a timely manner, but there aren't any obvious references or timelines (e.g., the dialogue works the same whether you get there in 10 days or 1,000 days). You would only notice a couple out-of-place sequences (seeing things happening that would logically take place in a shorter amount of time), but there shouldn't be anything too glaring.

[Guest DBear]

The first time I played BG2 way back when, I delayed as long as I thought reasonable. My party had over 1.5 million xp, but I got back Imoen with only 400K. I was so disgusted I quit not long after.

 

Now I've downloaded the "Transfer Yoshimo xp" mod, trying that out.

[Domi]

Am I the only one who doesn't leave for Spellhold until about 300 days or so?

 

I am the same. Dunno about the exact number of days, but I basically do every single bit available, so my Chapters 5 and 6 are very much a race to the finish-line.

[WizWom]

My last few no reload runs, I head to spellhold after doing every available quest, which ends up giving me about Lvl 14-16 characters, 2 million XP, and maybe 40-60 days in game. And, of course, Carsomyr and other goodies like the shield of Harmony.

 

For instance, my last successful no-reload trilogy run Hugh...

 

Posted after doing a couple things in the underdark after Spellhold:

Day 48, Hour 0

Lvl 18 Inquisitor, 3,233,381 Exp

Party (deaths): Hugh, Jaheira (1), Aerie (stone, 1), Jan(1), Haer'Dalis(3), Imoen.