Suggested mod install order, some reviews and potential mod input for BG2

[luddifier]

Well well it is that time again, I have been crowned savior of Baldur's Gate but subsequentially thrown into a dungeon and must prove myself once again. It is my third playthrough in total, and my second time that I use mods.

 

I had much fun with several of the mods that I will list below and will give my input on several of them, but am also wondering about potential conflicts between mods that are well known since I plan to add a few this time around.

 

Comprehensive altering mod:

1 - Ascension (Apparently overwrites things and should be installed before the fixpack)

 

Comment: Amazing. Really alters the endgame substantially but makes it feel more imersive and epic. I can't play without it since I tried it.

 

Fixpacks:

2 - G3 BG2 Fixpack v 9.01 (Not installing Super Happy Fun Modder Pack)

 

Comment: I actually read that many people dislike the fixpack due to it fixing certain things that are deemed to not be "broken" per se. I do remember being confused by some changes that I wasn't used when comparing my latest modded run with Vanilla, and would like some comments on what exactly is the "problem" with the fixpack. I'll probably install it though.

 

Revisions:

 

3 - Westley Weimers Item Upgrade Pack & Cespenar Audio

 

Comment: While it does significantly help the player, and I DO in fact intend to use the celestial fury +5 as my main weapon for the second half of the game, it makes it really fun and immersive to collect certain items and use them. It also lessens the load in the inventory as several mighty items are combined into one more powerful. Also, I do intend to increase the difficulty with SCS so I do think its warranted.

 

NPC mods:

 

-None

 

Comments: It seems the majority of BG fans hate most NPC-mods, but I still have the NPC entry here for its natural order in the mod installation sequence and am still thinking about adding Kelsey since he seems to be one of the few that meshes well in terms of appearing as well written as the rest of the Bioware NPCs. I have heard the same about Keto.

 

BANTER PACKS

 

4 BG2 Banter Pack

 

5 IEP Extended Banters v 3.2 (No Banter Accelerator, will use Ctrl + i in debug mode when feeling like chewing the fat)

 

6 IEP Extended Banter Packs (For Viconia, Mazzy, Yoshimo, Sarevok and Imoen, installed in that order)

 

Comment: I think I liked these quite a lot if I remember correctly, but I would like comments on the Sarevok banter since Ascension makes his talks pretty tied to story triggers in the game. The main gripe is Imoen not talking much I guess, due to her last-minute change in the story by BIoware, but I really like her character and have always brought her from the very start of the first game to the end of throne of Bhaal.

 

7 Flirt pack

 

Comment: Makes sense, wish there was a player initiated dialogue component for ALL npcs in the game

 

QUEST PACKS

 

8 UNFINISHED BUSINESS (No Bhaalspawn powers due to them being included in Ascension, no original portraits because I hated them and no Sarevoks remorse also due to an Ascension conflict)

 

9 Romantic Encounters

 

Comment: Great mod! Really fun to feel like a flirtatious adventurer, and fun that npcs comment on it. Makes Amn even more alive.

 

10 Every Mod and dog

 

11 Tower of Deception

 

12 Dungeon Crawl

 

13 G3 Anniversary Mod

 

14 Assasinations

 

Comment: Do not remember that much about these mods except tower of deception, which had some nice connection to the main story towards the end of the game and was also surprisingly challenging. I prefer not so intrusive quest mods that feel OK in length and these seemed to fit the bill nicely last time I played. I was leaning pretty heavily towards good though so I never finished the assasination mod, and I am good again this run though it will probably be for the last time in a pretty long while.

 

15 Ding0 Quest Pack (and maybe tweakpack)

 

Comment: A bit unsure since if I remember correctly I heard about bugs in regards to some components. Still I am really curious to what this adds as it seems to make the travels through Amn a bit more involved as there are a bit more choices. I really want to install it and really want to hear what people think about it in regards to compatibility and stability. Last time I played I passed on it at the last minute since it seemed too unstable. Also is the Ding0 tweakpack necessary with tweaks and SCS?

 

16 Wheels of Prophecy

 

17 Turnabout

 

18 Longer Road

 

Comment: While I installed Longer Road last time, I did not accept Ellessimes proposal at the beginning of throne of Bhaal. I actually thought it was a great opportunity to berate her though since I blame her for many of the predicaments the PC endure in the game so I still appreciated the added content I saw from the mod. I am thinking about actually accepting Irenicus into my party this time though. As for the other two mods, I felt that since Ascension was a big change I hesitated from installing them, but have recently read that they are great additions to throne of bhaal so I feel I really want them this time.

 

TWEAKS

 

19 Homeward bound

 

Comment: Always take Yoshimo to spellhold, so am more interested in the throne of Bhaal component since I also always take Sarevok into my party.

 

20 Song and Silence

 

21 Rogue Rebalancing

 

Comment: I loved and hated the cyric encounter, as I actually had to lower the difficulty one step to beat it last time. However, since I beat Sarevok in BG1 with SCS and for the first time ever killed his cronies before himself I'm hoping either my PC is more powerful or I have become better at the game. Also I like the rogue store and it is nice to have a spellcasting-armor that early in the game (I am a fighter mage) and that went double for BG1 since when not playing EE there is no way at all to get it. Probably the hardest battle I encountered in my last playthrough, except maybe improved Irenicus from SCS.

 

22 Oversight

 

Comments: Mainly want the improved Sendai, but appreciate the other components as well. However seem to recall talk about a significant conflict with some other mods, would be good if someone could confirm or rebuke.

 

23 Sword Coast Stratagems II

 

Comment: I do like many additions from this mod, especially the general AI improvements and better calls for help but I wish there was a way to make ONLY specific boss-like mages smarter, since there really is no cannon-fodder type of encounters with the smarter-mages component installed. The way I do it is generally install story-appropriate components like upgrading Usht-Nashta and removing my items in Spellhold but also install pretty much all the tactical components, as well as several utility features. But smarter mages I never touch as I can't stand it, I do like that sort of frustration and challenge in boss-like battles but not when facing any run-of-the-mill mage in the game. I do kind of appreciate the potion-aspect but if I don't let a vast majority of potions shatter it will work in my favor instead later in the game. Also I had better dragons and beholders where the latter was QUITE the challenge. I'm thinking about improving the other "creatures" but since I already hate mindflayers quite a bit I'm still hesitant. Really unsure if I want better liches, but there was a significant difference between my unmodded and modded run when facing Kangaxx, since he went down pretty easily last time. I guess I have specific ideas of what is supposed to be "that" difficult and what isn't, but I guess that is what makes the modular nature of SCS so fricking good.

 

Also, the final battle in hell was a blast (I played on core). All the reloads, and different approaches until finally only me and my nemesis duked it out as everything and everyone was leveled by our mighty spells. Good times. I also really liked the way the final battle with Sarevok in BG1 was improved, though there was a bug with his dialogue when I killed his followers as there clearly was a dialgoue field where he said something, but no text (Luckily one of my main goals with that playthrough already was to kill his cronies before him, so it was satisfying to do it in a much more difficult version of the fight than normal and only when i read up on the details of the fight did I realise it could only be done the way I had done it).

 

24 BG2 Tweak Pack

 

25 Widescreen Mod

 

26 Bigger fonts

 

27 Modify happy.2da to allow all npcs to remain in party despite high reputation (Is this the same as installing the happy-component from the tweak-pack? I did this in BG1 and it worked as I wanted, might do as in BG1 and combine with slower reputation gain)

 

So that's essentially my mod list as it stands. It is basically the same from my last playthrough but I have added ding0 quest pack, homeward bound, turnabout and wheels of prophecy this time to the mix and am hoping there are no serious conflicts I need to think about, or any conflicts in other places I have missed by the other mods?

 

Also, are there other mods I have missed? I am not that interested in graphical enhancements such as 1PP since I actually like the look of BG2. Also when it comes to new content, I really want it to be seamless and "nonintrusive". I have heard some things about ashes of embers, the ding0 tweak pack, and grey clan episodes so I might test them under recommendations. I did like some thing I heard about virtue but also heard it was quite buggy so stayed clear of it. I'll appreciate any feedback but unless I hear very strong and well put objections this will be my mod order install list.

[Jarno Mikkola]

One thing you ought to know, you might wish to go with the SCS instead of the SCSII, as the SCS is the compilation made after the SCS I and SCS II was combined, it has a few tweaks after the last SCS II version came out.

 

Are you going to manually install these ?

I would recommend that you would use the BWS tool, and fully customize you install with the "..." button after selecting the Tactical Composition, were you remove a lot of the mods that you don't wish to install.

[luddifier]

Yeah I'm aware that sword coast stratagems I&II has been combined from now, I noticed it when installing the latest version on BGTUTU but unfortunately v28 didn't work on my tutuinstall so had to go back to v21.

 

Yeah I have always installed everything manually and I have essentially gotten the gist of it by now, its just a matter on reading up on incompatibilities beforehand. I also copy the folder of the install and haven't really tried the big world setup. Maybe I will try it this time, but since I know how to install everything manually and can follow the process I think that is how I will do it.

 

Edit: Actually read up some on BWS and don't think I will use it for numerous reasons. Besides, isn't it just for BGT?

[Jarno Mikkola]

Yeah I have always installed everything manually and I have essentially gotten the gist of it by now, its just a matter on reading up on incompatibilities beforehand. I also copy the folder of the install and haven't really tried the big world setup. Maybe I will try it this time, but since I know how to install everything manually and can follow the process I think that is how I will do it.

There's a few known bugs in the mods above, that are fixed in the BiG World install files(the Ding0 Quest Pack being one, Kelsey mod being another as it overwrites few spells). Also the Ascension mod might be better installed via the Big Picture mod's Ascension component that doesn't overwrite everything.

[luddifier]

While the BWS could resolve some issues there are so many mods I won't install all components off. I feel that it is more customizable to install it manually and since I am in no hurry to start playing I would rather appreciate advice on the install order of the mods. I kind of want to let the BWS discussion drop now since that isn't what my post was about.

 

However I have started looking at the Big World Project documentation for the mods and it seems like good instructions for what order to install. For instance the tougher Sendai component from oversight should probably be installed directly after Ascension, while the rest of that mod could be installed later.

[luddifier]

I actually reached insight when reading through the BWP documentation. This is my final mod order:

 

Ascension (Apparently overwrites things and should be installed before the fixpack)

 

Oversight (Only tougher Sendai)

 

 

G3 BG2 Fixpack v 9.01 (Not installing Super Happy Fun Modder Pack)

 

Every Mod and Dog

 

tower of deception

 

dungeon crawl

 

assasinations

 

Weimers Item Upgrade

 

Item Upgrade Audio

 

NPC mods (Not Kelsey or Solaufein)

 

Banter Packs

 

IEP Banter Packs

 

Edwin Romance (Only new ending for Viconia)

 

Sarevok Friendship

 

Unfinished Business (No Sarevoks remorse, original portraits or restored Bhaalspawn powers)

 

Ding0 Quest Pack (Just General Improved AI, creature and area improvements and Improved oasis)

 

Turnabout

 

The Longer Road (No portrait)

 

Wheels of Prophecy

 

Homeward Bound (No Romance Option)

 

Kelsey

 

Flirt Pack

 

Romantic Encounters

 

Ding0 Quest pack (All that’s left except improved shadowthieves since they become hostile)

 

G3 Anniversary

 

Song and Silence (just the store)

 

Rogue rebalancing (Just more items and chosen of cyric)

 

Sword Coast Stratagems

 

BG2 Tweaks

 

Widescreen Mod

 

Bigger Fonts

[ericp07]

I highly encourage giving more NPC mods a try, as some are very well written and stable enough for a multi-mod installation (at least, that's been my experience). My own must-haves are:

 

Amber

Kivan

Solaufein

Yasraena

BTL

 

In my highly biased opinion, Kivan and BTL are the best NPC mods ever written (and I'll maintain that view even after my own NPC mod sees release). Of course, NPC preferences are completely subjective. Check out the mod descriptions, decide which kinds of characters appeal to you, and take 'em for a test drive

[Thimblerig]

Angelo is also a very likeable PC. Friendly, interestingly grey, lots of content whether you romance him or not...