New Features of the Game
New NPCs
There will be 15 NPCs in BG 2, including five which are returning from the original game. Three of these are Minsc (and Boo), Imoen and Jaheira. Other NPCs from Baldur's Gate, like Garrick and Coran, can be met but will not join the party.
Bigger XP cap
The current XP cap is set at 2,950,000, resulting in the following maximum levels for single-classed characters:
Fighter: 19th, Paladin: 17th, Ranger: 17th, Wizard: 17th, Cleric: 21st, Druid: 14th, Thief: 23rd, Bard: 23rd
Character kits
Although not final, and subject to change, the current list of kits is: Fighter (Berserker, Wizardslayer, Kensai), Ranger (Archer, Beastmaster, Stalker), Paladin (Cavalier, Inquisitor, Undead Slayer), Cleric (Priest of Talos, Priest of Lathander, Priest of Helm), Druid (Shapeshifter, Totemic Druid, Beast Friend), Mage (8 specialty mages as in Baldur's Gate), Thief (Assassin, Swashbuckler, Bounty Hunter) and Bard (Blade, Jester, Skald).
New character race
The Half-Orc has been added to the list of races that you can create a character from. These big brutes make great warriors due to their strong physiques.
You can now Dual-Wield weapons
The developers decided they had heard enough about leaving this out of the original. So they have included it in the sequel. About time. Love using two swords.
Drow city and the Underdark
This is one of the new places your travels will carry you. Reason enough to buy the game. Love those Drow Elves. How about a Drow race to play as?
New weapons
Several new weapons have been added including the katana, wakizashi and blackjack.
New thief skills
Thieves' Stealth ability of Baldur's Gate has been split into Hide in Shadows and Move Silently as in AD&D. Thieves will also be able to Set Traps and Detect Illusions.
Druids will be able to shapechange into animals
At 7th level, Druids will be able to Shapechange into a selection of animals. A change of pace I guess, nothing that exciting.
New spells
BG 2 will feature 300 spells, compared to 130 in Baldur's Gate. This includes 7th level priest spells and 9th level mage spells, the most powerful in AD&D. Some of these spells are: Contingency, Chain Contingency, Gate, Spell Turning, Delayed Blast Fireball, Time Stop, Disintegrate, Power Word: Kill, Finger of Death, Resurrection, Chain Lightning, Conjure Elemental, Blade Barrier, Meteor Swarm and Cacofiend. Pretty cool wish the spell effects were as good as IWDs.
New journal features
The journal will be separated into four sections: active quests, completed quests, critical path notes, and player comments. The new journal and ability to annotate maps will make record keeping easier and more comprehensive than before.
New monster types
There will be over 130 unique monster types in BG 2 (compared to about 60 in Baldur's Gate). Some of those that you will fight are: Beholders, Djinni, Elementals, Githyanki, Golems, Kuo-Toa, Leopards, Mephits, Mind Flayers, Otyughs, Sahaugin, Spectres, Trolls, Umber Hulks, Vampires and Wraiths.
Changes in multiplayer
Multiplayer in BGII:SoA has been modified to remove some irritations that were present in Baldur's Gate. Speaking with NPCs will no longer pause the game for all players, except when that dialog is important for the plot. Thus, you can chat with the locals without bothering the other players, but won't miss any of the story. For other players to learn what that NPC had to say they will have to talk to them themselves or the other player will need to relay the information. The lack of pausing also applies to conversations with shop owners, allowing you to buy and sell independently of the other players. Finally, players can now write the histories that appear on the character sheet, which other players can read while the character is in the party.
Mages can have familiars
This should mean all mages even multi class. They will be critters that you control and can even scout for your party. You will need to find a scroll to summon one. But if your familiar dies you lose 1 point of CON permanently
Characters will start at higher levels
New characters created in BG 2 will start with 89,000 experience points. This will mean your characters will be in the 7-8 level range.
You can hide parts of the interface
You can choose any section of the interface are all sections and hide them from view to see more of the screen.
Your characters can now own a stronghold
Each class will be able to posses some sort of stronghold, once they reach the appropriate level and complete a major quest for it. Which stronghold you get depends on your class with multiclasses being able to choose which one by deciding which quest to pursue. Some examples are a keep for fighters, a hall with many secrets for wizards, a temple for clerics and a thieves' guild for thieves. You do not design the stronghold as it is pre-rendered art. You can only own one stronghold and for multiplayer games, only the protagonist may possess a stronghold. The stronghold quests, although interesting, are optional and not part of the central plot.
Owning a stronghold has certain responsibilities. You must give orders to your underlings and listen to your subjects or risk losing your stronghold. In return, you will gain information, money and other rewards. Take the bard's stronghold, a playhouse, as an example. You need to hire actors and choose their roles, separate two competing divas, possibly rewrite the music and the play itself, and live through opening night.
3D Hardware supported
BG 2 will support OpenGL, although it is NOT required. The Infinity engine has been updated substantially, and one of the improvements is the inclusion of 3D support. This means that certain things in BGII:SoA utilize the 3D support for visual enhancement and speed. The most visible benefactors of this feature will be the spell effects, but other things, such as "fog of war" and water, now use 3D as well.
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