Dimensionist

Well, the BG1 was no designed to be played at level 40.
The BG2 was not either, the ToB was planed to be started at level ~18 - 22... if you want to plan a game at the 40th level mark... you play the BG2 ToB and there you get to stump a bit bigger enemies, that could possibly actually give you a challenge.
Or you could install the EET to an BG2EE game and then go ahead and start the game at level 50/50 in Candlekeep.

The game is not scale-able... intentionally.
Yes, the self made problem disappears when you move to a game that has the HLAs as an intentionally included feature.

Thank you. That was, at least, helpful.

I figure I'll try out a few different levels, see what works for me and what I enjoy for the moment.

In any case, the thread seems to be over and done with. If there's a 'Closed' feature in this forum, you can apply it to this thread.

I can't really play it with this without an extra change, however - is there any mod or other such method to scale the enemies up appropriately? If not, I suppose I'll rebuild my game back to the Level 8 limit (for a Fighter/Mage, anyway).

First you want to play at level 40 and then want challenge. This game was not build that way.
How about you start at level ~5/5, play the whole game though with Boots of Speed and a few other items and limit the cheating at that. That's what we others do too. Also the Hit Point gain tables are switched to 1-3 depending on the exact class, at levels 10-13. And there's no point on going to levels beyond 20, as the games roles stop going further in the BG2EE on that point, except gaining more of the same HLAs, and the normal spells effects cap up too.

The issue is not that you are cheating, but that you are over cheating it by a mile... And the dragon that you can fight is a total n00b compared to anything you can throw at it, so you can't get anything out of the game with over cheating at it.

I'm not really sure why you seem to have a problem with my playstyle, to be honest. Or anyone else's playstyle in single player, for that matter. I'm checking out what I can do with the game, playing it in different ways to see how it is. At Level 40, I can play around with 9th level spell at max cap and see how the various HLAs play out working together. Heck, it's an entirely personal choice, and to be honest, I'm sure it would be satisfying to play the game with a Level 40 character stomping everything, I just don't care to do it right now and was looking for a more epic scale of fights - hence the question of enemy scaling. Why is it such a bad thing to you? It's a single player game, no one else is affected, and I'm enjoying it.

There is really no actual issue about cheating or 'overcheating'. Not in a single player game. It's all about what a person would get satisfaction from. And yes, you can get something out of the game even while overpowering everything. Leaving aside how casually bulldozing past all enemies can be cathartic on a visceral level from time to time, it can also facilitate a certain kind of roleplay.

Now, the actual question was asked and answered. I hate to be rude, but do you have anything to add in that vein? Because really, the discussion about cheating seems to be bogging down to 'cheating beyond these specific bounds I've prescribed is wrong because you won't enjoy it', which is rather arbitrary and riddled with assumptions.

There isn't much that can challenge a level 40 wizard.

On the Beamdog forums in the EE compatible mods lists you'll find a difficulty increase mod that isn't in BWS yet. It increases creature levels only, so it must be installed before BG2 Tweaks "give creatures max HP for their level" and before SCS (which revises spellbooks and proficiencies and more to match creature level) to have the intended effect.

Thanks, I'll check it out.

Yeah, it's cheating cause you can't normally get to level 13 anyways. TRY and play the game for reals for ones, you'll notice that you can't get to that level. Without heavy XP cheating, or actions that you wouldn't normally do, like having only one character as your entire party. Cause it's so weak alone.
The game has a exponential XP gain table, meaning that for one level you have to have about twice the amount of xp to gain a level at this stage, and you are talking about a multi classed character by the by. .... Normal the game had a XP cap that limited the gained XP to 161 000. I don't think you can get to 1 000 000 xp, let alone 3M xp without actions that are well beyond any limits of cheating from any respect of the view. So the problem is non existing.

And if I said something impolite, I apologize.

Well, you are not... So no need to apologize.
PS, my judgement that you are cheating does not base you as a bad person, just that you need to understand the mechanisms behind the judgement.

It kinda doesn't count out the items-based mods, though. Or obviate the fact that cheating in a single player game is often just a way to enjoy the game from a different paradigm. For instance, if you want to roleplay as a trained adventurer starting out rather than a novice. Or if you want certain items because you're annoyed at the time it takes to move across maps (*cough*oil of speed*cough*), though in that case there *are* some speedhacks available. And even with all that you've said, it should be noted that removing the XP cap (as the existing recommended mods list provides) *will* let you peak at a higher level than the base level of the game. This is in addition to stuff like extra quests, extra items, etc.

Basically, at the end of the day, 'cheating' is both pointless as a criticism for a single-player game and boomerangs right back around when you use mods and/or game exploits, in spirit if nothing else. There's little point in condemning someone for doing so, particularly as in a single player game it's really up to him how he wishes to enjoy the game.

For instance, I played the game without cheating before. Didn't finish it, but that was more due to a lack of interest than inability - there were too many other games on my backlog. Returning to this game after some time, I wanted to add some zest to it - hence, choosing to start as a Level 40 player - because checking out the cool spells that I can use and the HLAs is fun.

I do agree with you on cheating when it comes to multiplayer games, though - if you're playing *with* someone, then they deserve the courtesy of a fair game.

Anyway, now to business - I tried it out by tweaking the files, and it comes out fine. I can't really play it with this without an extra change, however - is there any mod or other such method to scale the enemies up appropriately? If not, I suppose I'll rebuild my game back to the Level 8 limit (for a Fighter/Mage, anyway). Be kinda a let-down to face Sarevok as a Level 40 Fighter/Mage.

Is there anyway to fix that? I remember using a mod before BWS that *did* allow me to use the HLAs by porting over BG2EE HLAs to the BG1EE game.

How... well you are not supposed to, cause that's clear cheating man. That's it.
You can install that mod afterwards, but you are on your own on using it.

That's cheating, but allowing you to level up to Level 40 isn't? Or the mods offering access to items well beyond BGEE limits?

And it's actually rather necessary, because without it you can't level beyond 13-14, and in fact can get completely stuck on the level up screen (... though I guess that bit's easily overcome by just going back and not leveling up).

Not to mention it's a single player game, so cheating's not really a problem there if you want to try new things to have fun.

In any case, I've got my info, so one last question - if I add the HLAs from the previous mod, it won't mess up my BWS installation, will it?

EDIT: For more information, it's TeamBG's Level 40 Rule Set/HLA mod, I think.

EDIT: Alright. Doesn't quite work with BWS, but the abilities populate just fine. Figure I'd just need to try and get the XP Cap portion working correctly and I'll be fine.

Thanks for the help here, guys. And if I said something impolite, I apologize.