Jim Mazurek Interview
In as much detail as you can, what character(s) did you play Baldur's Gate II with?
I played through the most important sections of the game with just about every type of character (i.e. Fighter, Mage, Cleric, Monk, Sorcerer, Thief, Druid, Paladin), but my personal favorites were the Fighter and the Mage. Not because I'm a powergamer or anything, but because I simply appreciated the advantages that these classes receive. There's some really nice reassurance that goes along with being able to use any type of armor or weapon in the game (Fighter), or use any type of spell you happen to find a scroll for (Mage).
I'm not into multi/dual-classing or class kits much, although we spent A LOT of time experimenting with each. If I could pick one class kit that I was most impressed with, it would probably be the Cavalier at high levels. He just rocks the house on those goofy Dragons.
What spells did you find the most useful?
Hmm…I'd have to say that my personal favorites were as follows (in no particular order):
Magic Missile - This spell works on almost any type of enemy you can find, and at high levels, you just have so many of them to throw at people! I have a feeling most people agree with me when I say that this is one of the few essential Mage spells. I never worried about it missing when I needed it to hit, that's for sure.
Simulacrum - What's not to like about a fully functional spitting image of your mage? They implemented this spell very well, and I found myself using it almost all the time toward the end of the game. If you're a Mage, make it a point to find this scroll as early as possible.
Spell Trigger - This is just one of those spells that shouldn't even be in the game. It's just THAT powerful. Yeah, you can do straightforward things like sequencing three magic missiles or three lightning bolts, but it's when you start to get a little more advanced when it really begins to shine. Try sequencing other types of spells for some really wacky effects!
You mention Keldorn Firecam is your favorite NPC. Why?
I've always liked the knight in shining armor persona, and Keldorn manages to pull it off with such style. Anomen was just too much of a pretty boy, and didn't appeal to me as much as the classy Keldorn. I only said he was my favorite in hopes of making other players aware of his "coolness." Jan Jansen is pretty darn cool as well. Have you seen his ears?
Besides the main quest, there are the so-called stronghold quests for each class. Which did you like the best and why?
All of them are such a hoot, but I think I liked the Fighter's stronghold the best. There are soooo many little mini-plots that go with the Fighter stronghold -- it's borderline crazy. I don't want to ruin it for anyone, but man, if you decide to take up a Fighter you'll definitely have your hands full with the stronghold quest.
What is your absolute favorite part of Baldur's Gate II?
Oh man, the one part that gave me chills was the first time I encountered the Shadow Dragon. I had the game in 640x480 and I was just exploring the dungeon very haphazardly when it was just like, BAM! Bigger than my whole damn screen! Luckily, I had the Shadow Wardstone and I didn't have to fight it. But for some strange reason, I ended up force attacking the thing and I watched it slaughter my whole party. Curiosity definitely killed the cat in this case…
Other than that, the fact that BioWare put dragons in the game just made my day. I'm a bit obsessed with dragons, to say the least.
As hindsight is 20/20, if you did it over again, would you do anything differently?
Oh yeah, I'd change some stuff for sure. That's almost always the case with my guides - I'm never truly 100% happy with them. I guess that's a good thing though.
On another note, I'm still waiting for someone to publish an updateable printed strategy guide where we can get the same luxury as the game designers themselves. That way, we could just patch the damn thing every month or so as we learned more secrets. Wouldn't that be sweet?
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