Line #18 YMMV/BaldursGateSiegeOfDragonspear


1	* AlasPoorScrappy: [[spoiler:Skie, who usually ranks very high in lists of useless or annoying party members in BG I, gets CharacterDevelopment and is so callously killed by Irenicus that one can't help feeling a little sorry for her]].
2	* BestBossEver: The dwarven Lich, Gurn Coldhearth, is a PuzzleBoss where he has dramatically stronger magic and powers than your party should be able to beat (though some have figured out how using specific spells) in a "fair fight." Worse, if you kill him, he will come back within a minute to do it again. However, you can cripple him with holy dwarven magic and discover his SoulJar before tossing it into the Plane of Elemental Fire to make sure he becomes DeaderThanDead. All of this requires exploration, investigation, paying attention, and building alliances--perfect for Baldur's Gate.
3	* BrokenBase:
4	** The ending. Some consider it a good or at least decent ending that properly explains the "grim circumstances" Charname and the specific party they seemingly had at the start of the second game left Baldur's Gate under while also explaining how Irenicus captured them, while others hate it, claiming it contains blatant RailRoading, completely ignores your past accomplishments in favor of [[spoiler:one accusation of murder]], and gives you barely any opportunity to [[spoiler:defend yourself, and it doesn't even matter if you ''do'', because anyone who believes you gets overwhelmed by Skie's father who is mad with grief over her death]].
5	** Some people have criticized the expanded experience cap, complaining it can severely upset the balance of ''VideoGame/BaldursGateII'' once the main character has been imported. Others are happy to walk into it at a higher level of power.
6	* CaptainObviousReveal: [[spoiler:When it's revealed Caelar Argent wants to open a portal to Avernus, it becomes painfully evident this is some sort of scheme orchestrated by devils. And, big shocker, it turns out to be the case.]]
7	* CompleteMonster: [[TreacherousAdvisor Hephernaan]] is supposedly a cleric in service of the Shining Crusade, but is in truth the servant of powerful devils. Manipulating the Crusade's leader [[AntiVillain Caelar Argent]], Hephernaan made her think she could save her uncle Aun from the Abyss, inspiring her to raise an army under the false belief of storming the Nine Hells to liberate the souls of the victims of the first Dragonspear War. Hephernaan oversaw the deaths of thousands and a near-catastrophic war on the Sword Coast as [[TheManInFrontOfTheMan a member of Caelar's inner circle]], but his ultimate plan was to lure Gorion's Ward to Castle Dragonspear. [[EvilGloating Gleefully gloating]] as he reveals his plans in the final chapters of the game, Hephernaan uses the player's divine blood to re-open a long-closed portal to [[FireAndBrimstoneHell the plane of Avernus]], intent on opening Faerun and all Toril to a Baatezu invasion at the hands of his master Belhifet that would see every living thing killed or enslaved to devilish torment forevermore.
8	** See [[YMMV/IcewindDale here]] for Belhifet.
9	* EnsembleDarkhorse:
10	** M'kiin the goblin shaman was a very well received addition to the companion roster, with an interesting backstory and a cool character kit.
11	** Skie, despite being [[TheScrappy the opposite]] in the original title, also became this for some people after her CharacterDevelopment. A common sentiment on the Beamdog forums after the game's release was that Skie would have made a much better party member than Safana.
12	* HilariousInHindsight: After the starting dungeon, Kivan's stated reason for leaving the party is because Tazok is dead, his lover avenged. Tazok actually turned out to be NotQuiteDead in the sequel.
13	* MoralEventHorizon: In case you don't hate [[EvilChancellor Hephernaan]] by the time you finally lay siege to Dragonspear Castle, you will after discovering he [[spoiler:manipulated Caelar, her Crusader followers and Charname to allow him to reopen the portal to Avernus and unleash TheLegionsOfHell upon Faerun once more]].
14	* OvershadowedByControversy: The game is mostly remembered for the obnoxious political arguments it brought to the fandom than for its actual merits or failures. On Steam, the game was review bombed for political reasons, crowding out reviews that addressed gameplay, technical issues, or the story. Specifically:
15	** The inclusion of Mizhena, a minor cleric of Tempus who reveals that she is transgender depending on your dialogue choices. Supporters praised the representation and important message she delivers. Detractors considered her a TokenMinority and claimed being trans wouldn't be noteworthy in a world with artefacts that can instantly change your sex. Ed Greenwood, the creator of the Forgotten Realms setting, even weighed in, arguing in the character's favor.
16	** Beamdog gave Minsc a click-on quote taking a jab at the [=GamerGate=] controversy. The line was removed, but it fed the fire of the accusation that the devs were [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotPolitical "politicising the franchise"]].
17	* PlayTheGameSkipTheStory: Even the game's detractors do enjoy some of the battles, like [[spoiler:fighting the camp of Dragonspear soldiers, fighting the green half-dragon, fighting the monks and priests of Cyric, and the FinalBoss of Belhifet.]] But the story and characters are more divisive.
18	* SalvagedStory: A common quibble of the original games is how nonsensical the reputation system is for evil companions; they will object and complain [[StupidEvil as if being well-liked in the eyes of the public is a negative thing]], when really the most efficient and pragmatic evil [=PCs=] will be played as [[VillainWithGoodPublicity Villains With Good Publicity]] and enjoy all the benefits such a thing entails. [=SoD=] goes a way to justify this behaviour, as evil companions will actually explain ''why'' they each want to avoid a heroic reputation when the meter gets too high. Viconia, for instance, believes that drawing too much attention to the group will get her imprisoned or killed.
19	* TheScrappy:
20	** Safana. Despite being pushed as a default party member (and the developers' stated intent to flesh the character out), she's actually irrelevant to the plot and rather than being given a little more depth or CharacterDevelopment, if anything she comes across as [[TookALevelInJerkass much more of a bitch]] than she was in the first game, where she was merely considered a mediocre but harmless and tolerable party member. Her underwhelming and anticlimactic romance, which ends with her cheating on you with Voghiln regardless of how you treat her, is also seen as the worst in the game.
21	** While her character throughout the campaign is merely divisive, Corwin's actions at the end of the game are so widely despised that she winds up in this territory. More specifically... [[spoiler:She claims to have seen the player kill Skie, but this is not true in any version -- a vision shows it was actually done by Irenicus, and she didn't show up until after the fact. She then tells the player that they should commit suicide to give Baldur's Gate peace because the city is in turmoil over the question of whether they're innocent, even though its ''her'' fault that's happening.]][[note]]The only way to avoid this is to romance her, and even that won't stop her from [[spoiler:trying to prevent your escape during the final chapter if you can't convince the dukes to smuggle you out of the city instead]].[[/note]] At the very least, the player character is able to [[TakeThatScrappy throw her "suggestion" right back in her face]].[[spoiler:Or you can kill her too.]]
22	--> '''Charname:''' I take it back, Schael. You're not a traitor. I can handle treason. You're worse. You're an idiot.
23	* ThatOneBoss: The FinalBoss is far and away the toughest enemy in the game. He hits like a truck and shrugs off damage from all but +3 weapons, [[GuideDangIt which there are not that many of and which are rather difficult to track down without a guide]]. For some party combinations, taking him down on higher difficulties relies on [[spoiler:Caelar]] doing most of the work. Assuming, of course, that [[spoiler:[[FromBadToWorse she didn't join him before the battle started...]]]] The [[CombatByChampion one-on-one duel with Ashatiel]] can also become this depending on the Bhaalspawn's class, and how much you're willing to cheese.
24	* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter:
25	** Skie, for some. With the young thief's [[TookALevelInBadass upped level of confidence and competence]] between games, she could have been something of a ReplacementGoldfish for Imoen, who doesn't feel strong enough to join Charname at Dragonspear. Sadly, Skie is not a recruitable character, and has her own arc independent of the party. Instead, Safana becomes the party's default thief, and her status as TheScrappy led many fans to strengthen their beliefs that Skie should have had that role instead.
26	** Caelar and her lieutenants (other than [[DragonWithAnAgenda Hephernaan]]) are generally considered to be underutilized and under-developed. WordOfGod is that [[WhatCouldHaveBeen there would have been an option for Charname to join Caelar]] that presumably would have fleshed them all out, but in the finished product the lingering hints to this path are instead an AbortedArc, with Charname being {{Railroad\|ing}}ed into conflict with Caelar regardless of which dialogue options they pick. There were also those who felt that Caelar's ultimate fate [[UnintentionallySympathetic was not deserved]], with several plans for mods for ''Baldur's Gate II'' that would bring her back, make her playable again, and potentially offer closure.

Context YMMV / BaldursGateSiegeOfDragonspear