Baldur's Gate II

Character & Party Advice

• You'll likely want a balanced party with at least one heavy frontliner, a Cleric for buffs and healing between encounters, a Mage for extra damage and lategame power, and a Thief for traps/locks.

• It's a good idea to reroll your stats at character creation until you get at least a decent total. For a Fighter you'll want 18+ STR/DEX/CON, a Mage will want 16+/18+ CON/INT respectively and a Thief ideally wants 18+ STR/DEX and 16+ CON.

• A ring available from the circus tent quest outside the first dungeon sets your Charisma to 18, so this stat can be left very low unless your class requires otherwise.

• Non-multiclass Druids almost universally suck in BG2, making Cernd the only downright bad companion.

• Monks should pump their Dexterity and not multi/dual-class.

Combat Advice

• Use the pause button, plan out what you're going to do. The various auto-pause settings can make things a lot easier to control, so set them up to suit your needs - auto-pausing when sighting an enemy for example is very useful for positioning and getting the first strike in battle.

• Enemy spellcasters are one of the biggest possible threats out there, so always carry around ways to dispel protective magic like Breach or Ruby Ray.

• Direct damage or healing aren't always the way to go. Be creative, clever use of certain buffs or situational abilities can turn the tide in your favor.

• Some enemies are highly resistant or immune to certain types of damage, so keep a variety of damage types at hand. For enemies with high magic resistance, always keep a few Lower Resistance spells memorized.

• Acid or fire is required to kill a knocked down troll. Carrying weapons or arrows which deal either is preferable to wasting spells to do it.

• Ranged attacks become increasingly devasting as your characters increase in level. If you're being rushed, you can have your party switch to ranged attacks before the mob reaches you to soften them up before they get too close.

General Advice

• Look up some basic AD&D mechanics if you need to, some of the stats (like lower Armor Class being better) can be real confusing.

• Make constant use of the tab key which shows up all doors, containers, items etc.

• Save before resting in a hostile area if you're worried about being interrupted by monsters, especially if you're in a bad shape.

• Level draining, a vampire favorite, can be cured by Restoration spells/scrolls or at temples. It can be prevented by anything that confers "Negative Plane Protection", such as certain items or the spell of the same name.

• If you set a Thief's script to "Adventurer", it will have them auto-detect traps outside of combat.

Time limits

• Despite the implied urgency, there is no time limit on any part of the main quest. Only exception is when somebody arranges a meeting at nighttime.

• Most quests given by party members are on a timer. They will usually remind you after about 2 days, at which point you should hurry up and get to it. The timers involving big dungeons are generous once the party has arrived and triggered some dialogue - no need to rush through a gauntlet of fights without resting or getting supplies.

• Nalia's quest is on a timer even if you don't let her join the party.

• A certain quest(s) involving disguises underground. You'll know when you get to it.

• Class stronghold quests. Check in once a week. If a messenger turns up, then it's on a more strict timer.

• However class stronghold quests are on pause when the party goes on a long voyage.

Missables

• When given the option to travel by boat or magic, choose boat.

• Any sidequests involving Neera should be completed before persuading a mage.

• You'll need Valygar in your party or in your inventory to do his quest.

• The shadow thief side quest can't be completed once/if you say yes to helping their rival.

• All the content in Athkatla and its surrounds will still be there once you get back from where you're going.

• The point of no return involves a large tree.