BG2: SHADOWS OF AMN - HINTS
1) To recharge wands, cloaks, or various other items, use them till they are down to just one charge then sell them and buy them back. This will cost you a lot of gold, but it’s always better than having no item at all.
2) Before you go on a spending spree, use as much charisma modifying spells and items (such as the Ring of Human Influence and the Friends spell) as possible. The higher the charisma, the cheaper the product.
3) If you control a party of characters who have completely good alignments, donate gold to the various churches as soon as possible, with a reputation of twenty, all prices will go down to HALF price, which is very handy on expensive items like the Robe Of The Magi.
4) If you have a Wizard keep your collected spell scrolls until you are overflowing with them, then use a potion’s of genius to modify your intelligence until you have 25, then write them all into your Mage book without a single failed write.
5) Always have at least one identify scroll or spell handy when you are adventuring. You never know when you might find that perfect item.
6) Until you have a Stronghold, find a place to store all your treasure. Do NOT leave them on the ground somewhere, because as soon as you leave the area, your stash will disappear. Instead put the treasure in a chest or cupboard. Don’t be a fool and sell all your rare and unique collected booty.
7) The Formation of your party is always important, never use single-file just before a fight, but use it in tight dungeons. If you wish to explore an entire map, use the chunkiest formation optional, so the fog-of-war will disappear quicker.
8) Try as often as possible to use a stealthy or invisible scout. This will often prevent fatal confrontations when you are unprepared.
9) If you are sorely outnumbered, use the lure technique. Get a scout to walk invisible up to the mass, but only let one enemy see you. He will follow you back to your waiting party, where you can ambush and kill him in seconds. Repeat this as necessary.
10) Always carry a melee and missile weapon on each character. The reason is because if he is restricted of movement but can still attack (such as a web or entangle spell), he can fire missile weapons at the distanced enemy.
11) A thief is poorly matched in melee combat to most classes, so use his backstab all the time. If the thief does not kill an enemy in one backstab, leave the enemy’s point of view and hide in the shadows again, simply return and stab the enemy again.
12) Always save before attempting to steal or burgle from any chest, table, bookshelf, or cupboard. That way, if you are caught, you can simply reload.
13) The most useful keyboard shortcut is the quick-save “Q” key. Use it well grasshopper.
14) A fighter is extremely useful in any battle, especially one that drank a potion of invisibility a few moments earlier.
15) It may sound unusual, but always have each character carry at least one NON-magical weapon. Enemy mages will often use a protection from magical weapons spell.
16) Summoned allies, even lowly goblins can be used to great effect-fodder and bait. Use them as cannon fodder while your Mage casts a powerful offensive spell.
17) Always carry some scrolls of greater restoration for when your strength or levels of experience are drained; I cannot stress this matter enough.
18) Some creatures are totally magic resistant, some are resistant to different types of weapons, and some can only be harmed by weapons of great power. This means a party with members of different class, weapons, and spells is imperative.
19) If you are sorely losing a battle and you are sure you are going to die, you can always exit a map, this way the battle will finish, and you can move on for healing. But remember that some creatures will follow you to the new area.
20) If you have plenty of gold, but need that little extra experience to gain a level, buy a Wizard scroll and write it to your spell book. Each level of the spell will give you 1000exp. From 1000exp for first level, to 9000exp for ninth.