![]() ![]() This means you can’t start the game at level 1, but at the previous game’s level cap (somewhere around 7, depending on class), ready to take on the sort of challenges characters at that level are built to handle. Coming to Baldur’s Gate 2 as a newborn babe can be a punishing experience, since it’s built as a continuation of the campaign begun in Baldur’s Gate. This means that, counter to almost all other D&D statistics, a lower THAC0 was better, because it meant a wider range of favorable outcomes when rolling a d20.ĭecades of progress in both tabletop and video game RPGs has made the systems that prop up Baldur’s Gate 2 downright inelegant, and also disorienting, in hindsight. Since THAC0 is meant to be a baseline reference and enemies a player encounters have variable armor classes, it becomes another step in the order of operations, where players have to subtract the enemy armor class from their own in order to learn the minimum roll they need to score a hit. For the uninitiated: THAC0 is an acronym for “To Hit Armor Class 0,” a statistic in Advanced D&D 2.0 that determines the minimum number you have to roll for an attack to hit an opponent with an armor class of 0. But no one should have to learn about THAC0, an abbreviation for one of the most annoying RPG rules I’ve ever had to internalize. Unlike many liberal arts majors, I am not afraid of numbers. It is hardcore, a game that expects you to understand the high-level statistics and probability parsing it is doing behind the scenes in order to navigate its many tricky encounters. More specifically, it was an Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition game, which means it was built to replicate an experience that, frankly, should serve as punishment for most misdemeanor offenses and a few felonies. We condensed years of D&D storylines to get you ready for Baldur’s Gate 3 There was a solid decade when you could read hundreds of words on Baldur’s Gate 2 without ever learning something core to its identity: It was a Dungeons & Dragons game. One of the funny things about Baldur’s Gate 2 is that, for many years, its reputation was so glowing that its origins became obscured. I’m just saying that you might not be aware of what you’re getting into - on a mechanical level - should you decide to play it 23 years later. That was cool when it was released in 2000, and it’s cool now. It’s an astonishingly dense and satisfying fantasy role-playing game and one of the first big games to make it feel like the player’s choices mattered and took place in the context of a sprawling, well-told story. ![]() You do not need to get in on that.ĭo not misunderstand: Baldur’s Gate 2 lives up to its reputation. After reading about these games on the internet (a mistake) you’ll probably come across phrases like “ Baldur’s Gate 2 is the best RPG ever made” and you’ll think, Damn, maybe I should get in on that. Baldur’s Gate 3 is almost upon us, and naturally, this might make you wonder about Baldur’s Gate 2 and, to a lesser extent, the first Baldur’s Gate. ![]()
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