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Icewind Dale seriesIWD2 compared to IWD(22 posts)(22 posts)
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Posted September 08, 2015
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Lebesgue: I finished IWD1 several times with a fresh party each time and never remember to have any problems with that cave. I think there were couple of tough fights in the vale of shadows or the lowest level of Dragon's Eye before you got really good kit and before you reached high levels. Of course it depends on the party you have. My was always pretty warrior+archers heavy. Did not bother much with magic in IWD1 expect for support. IWD2 is a different story.
And I actually didn't have any problems there or in any other place after that starting cave. Yxunomei and Belhifet being exception. I don't use archers at all (I heavily dislike managing arrows). I had Paladin, Cleric, 2 Mages, Druid, Thief. Any problematic fight could be cheesed by summons :))
Posted September 08, 2015
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Lebesgue: I finished IWD1 several times with a fresh party each time and never remember to have any problems with that cave. I think there were couple of tough fights in the vale of shadows or the lowest level of Dragon's Eye before you got really good kit and before you reached high levels. Of course it depends on the party you have. My was always pretty warrior+archers heavy. Did not bother much with magic in IWD1 expect for support. IWD2 is a different story.
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Sarisio: And I actually didn't have any problems there or in any other place after that starting cave. Yxunomei and Belhifet being exception. I don't use archers at all (I heavily dislike managing arrows). I had Paladin, Cleric, 2 Mages, Druid, Thief. Any problematic fight could be cheesed by summons :))
I can see why the first cave could be a problem with your magic heavy party. I agree that overall IWD1 is pretty easy. By tough fights I mean that I got caught off guards there once or twice and had to reload :-) Once you know what awaits you where and you can prepare no fight in IWD1 at the normal level of difficulty is really a challenge. Even Belhifet typically goes down quite easily which I find a little bit anti-climatic. Sarevok in BG1 was substantially more challenging :-)

But now that I have not that much time for serious gaming I like it that way. Makes for quick and relaxing gaming. And I can appreciate the plot.
Post edited September 09, 2015 by Lebesgue
Posted September 14, 2015
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Gule: Personally, I greatly prefer Icewind Dale over it's successor.
That's not to say that IWD2 is awful or that I didn't enjoy it at all. However, the part that I enjoyed the most about the first game was that it oozed atmosphere and style.
As far as I'm concerned, IWD2 is seriously lacking in that regard, though I find it hard to pinpoint to the exact reason.

[...]

Bottom line:
If you play these games for their tactical depth, because you like to employ different strategies for overcoming difficult battles and because you like to come up with efficient character builds, get Icewind Dale 2!

However, if you enjoyed Icewind Dale mainly for it's atmosphere and story, I can't really recommend it's successor.
Agreed.

Though there's one aspect of the style/atmosphere department where IWD2 wins: The narrator.
IWD's narrator is good, but IWD2's is fantastic. Possibly the best of any video game I've encountered.

The in-between-chapters video sequences where she narrates to the backdrop of beautiful painted/drawn scenic slides, will send shivers down your spine.
Posted September 26, 2015
Agreed with Archy above. IWD 2 intro is just beautifully sad, whereas IWD is more dramatic. Targos Docks Theme is a brilliant piece of music.

Played IWD 2 first then IWD. Really liked the implementation of 3E class, races (drow ; sverneblin ftw ), feats etc. But must agree as with most that original has much better atmosphere and sense of place and legend.

IWD 2 also has a ton of battles with just scores of enemies. Masses of Goblin-Orc-Shaman armies., which fits the plot I guess... Really liked the start but kinda grinded through the halfway point. Gets much better again in later chapters. There's even time-travel., scary crazy warrior monks. Also, if you like dark humour there's alot of really sharp dialogue that had me chuckling in my beard.

Would recommend.
Posted October 19, 2015
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thebackwardsn: I want to get this game but I want to know how it compares to the first
I liked the first one much better than the 2nd one. IWD 2 is brutally hard at times, a bit excessive in my opinion. I also didn't like the story that much. Worst of all, some sections are really, really tedious, and there are puzzle sections that I found to be rather annoying and not well-implemented. The prologue and the first chapter are pretty good though and have a scenario none of the other Infinity engine games explored...your party is part of a war effort against the goblin and orc hordes, and you do things like defending fortifications against goblin assaults and infiltrating a massive Horde fortress. I liked that setting and would say it's worth buying at least for that part...found the later sections to be pretty frustrating at times. Still a decent game on the whole though, just not as fun as the other Infinity engine games.
Post edited October 19, 2015 by morolf
Posted October 21, 2015
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Gule: The way I see it, whether you should get IWD2 depends also on what you enjoy about these games. Is it the story, the tactics, coming up with original characters or trying to beat the game?

Personally, I greatly prefer Icewind Dale over it's successor.
That's not to say that IWD2 is awful or that I didn't enjoy it at all. However, the part that I enjoyed the most about the first game was that it oozed atmosphere and style.
As far as I'm concerned, IWD2 is seriously lacking in that regard, though I find it hard to pinpoint to the exact reason.

Bottom line:
If you play these games for their tactical depth, because you like to employ different strategies for overcoming difficult battles and because you like to come up with efficient character builds, get Icewind Dale 2!

However, if you enjoyed Icewind Dale mainly for it's atmosphere and story, I can't really recommend it's successor.

Hope this helps! :)
Sounds very much like my experience too - except I disliked IWD2 so much that I never finished it (probably not even close). Dislike is perhaps harsh, but I found IWD1 to be much better. The atmosphere and music is simply stunningly beautiful. Some of the locations are glorious to behold. The story was decent enough as a placeholder and kept things moving forward. There are tough battles, but not exceedingly rough.

In IWD2, however, there was just horde after horde of enemies, not much of a story, and the atmosphere simply wasn't as good as in the first game. Ofc I didn't play the whole second game, but it sounds like it didn't rectify these problems in the later stages.

Must also say that I disliked the new ruleset. The BG-BG2-IWD set worked really well I felt, and this new stuff was a bit weird, and not in a good way. Bit of the same in NWN2 really, which I also didn't finish.

One of the combat mechanics, if one can call it that, which I really didn't care for at all, were these damn monsters that kept spawning in our midst all the time, due to some guy on a drum (doesn't sound silly at all, right? :D). I can't stand phase spiders in the BG world for the same 'mechanic', but these beasts were absolutely everywhere.
Posted October 31, 2015
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Pangaea666: One of the combat mechanics, if one can call it that, which I really didn't care for at all, were these damn monsters that kept spawning in our midst all the time, due to some guy on a drum (doesn't sound silly at all, right? :D). I can't stand phase spiders in the BG world for the same 'mechanic', but these beasts were absolutely everywhere.
This element has nothing to do with ruleset. But it made me remember Drummer monsters in Dungeon Siege II (they had name "Hak'u Drummers). They kept reviving other Hak'u monsters. Then there was Drummer boss who could revive boss monsters (and he happened to be in one room with 2 other bosses).
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Icewind Dale seriesIWD2 compared to IWD(22 posts)(22 posts)
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