I played this game in the Fall of 2015. I have decided to play it again and have installed Patch 3.03. Here are my questions.

1. I want to play this time with White March 1 and 2. Was it a mistake to patch to 3.03 before first installing WM 1 and 2? If I install WM 1 and 2 do I need to go back and reinstall Patch 3.03 or am I good to go?

2. Can I start a new game and then add WM 1 and 2 later or should they be installed first before beginning again?

3. When should one do WM 1 and 2 in the overall game? Can I finish the main game and then do the add-ons or is there a better order? I have read differing views on this.

4. Where can I find good solid Build Guides for 2016? There is a lot out there and with so much information that it is as clear as mud. To be honest I have played a ton of RPGs over the years but for me -- for me -- I have found Obsidian's approach to be the most challenging as to building a character right.

Thanks much for your help.

Currently there is a bug-practical reason to install White Marches expansions too. There is a bug that means some NPC can get buggered to hell and back if you recruit them and have them auto-level up (ie, you don't use the setting that enables you to level them up from level 1, even if you acquired an NPC at for instance level 7). From a developer post, this problem does not exist if you have the White March expansions. Essentially they messed up something with this in the 3.03 patch, so some abilities could get chosen for NPC that they shouldn't be able to pick. If you don't use auto level up, the bug shouldn't appear even without White March (it hasn't for me).

Other than, I would imagine it's better to play the game with the expansions installed. I don't have them myself (yet), but they are sort of expansions of the base game rather than standalone-ish expansions such as Throne of Bhaal. Some extra areas are added to the main game world.

Yeah the latest patch really screwed things up for people without the White March expansions. And it's buggy overall, even more so than in previous iterations of the game IMO, especially with regards to friendly fire and abilities damaging yourself or party members when they shouldn't. I would wait until the next patch sorts all this out.

Don't know how this was in 3.02 or earlier, but I'm playing with ciphers for the first time in 3.03, and it's pretty annoying that for a lot of battles they get self-stunned at the start of combat after I chose the skillability that is supposed to make that happen for enemies (it does, but it also happens to the cipher).

I'd still say the game is very enjoyable though, so don't be discouraged by the mention of some bugs. I just hope they release a new patch that fixes the few bugs that still persist.

Thanks to you all for your responses. Since it appears this latest patch really messed things up I guess I'll wait until Patch 3.04. The question is: Will there be a 3.04 offered?

I love this game but Obsidian's bug fests can be really frustrating.

Think there will be a 3.04, but it can take quite some time, given it took several months before 3.03 was released. That patch was supposed to be the last one, so if they come out with another one (hope they do!), they probably want to test it thoroughly beforehand to (try to) ensure they fix all the bugs and don't introduce new ones.

The above discussion may have given a somewhat skewed picture though. The game is really good, and works very well for the most part. Can't really say I have had a problem with bugs in it. There are the issues we talked about, but in the big scheme of things these are minor issues. It's not like the game is unplayable and you’ll be tearing your hair out every 5 minutes.

That said, I'm glad I bought the game so late (in the recent sale) so I got to play it pretty much bug-free, rather than the long de facto beta testing phase from release. That practice from seemingly every developer/publisher in the industry does my head in, and even more so for a kickstarter funded game, where they won't have a publisher breathing down their necks every minute with howls of "We gotta get it out! NOW!!"

If you have White March expansions installed, most of the game-breaking bugs won't affect you. Patch 3.03 mistakenly included lots of references to White March versions of resources, which can totally break the game if you don't have White March installed.

Otherwise it's just a matter of friendly fire getting you. To some, that's not a big deal. It is to me. Knockdown, Psychic Backlash, Amplified Thrust, and even just normal weapon hits have been reported to damage party members or even the character him/herself.

Hmmm, okay then I'll go ahead and install WM 1&2. Looking forward to a new play through and thanks for the clarifying remarks.