Any advice for playing Baldur's Gate for the first time in 2023?

Even though BG1 isn't as "grand" feeling as 2, I think it provides a better introduction to the admittedly not very intuitive D&D 2 mechanics. The entire intro area of BG1 is a tutorial. Additionally, you start BG2 around level 10 instead of 1, and I found this to be a bit overwhelming to begin the game with.

Something that was difficult for me to wrap my head around when it originally came out was that you will die over and over again if you treat it like an ARPG. You will need to constantly be pausing, issuing orders, unpausing, repeat. I've played the remastered versions and they include programmable AI for your characters that is worth tweaking. Also remember you can manually set auto-pause conditions - they will come in handy.

Last, I'd echo what other people have suggested in that you should try to have at least a handful of ranged characters backing up your front line fighters. Mages are extremely underpowered at low levels so they can fill this role nicely while they build up spells as the game goes on. Clerics are indispensable powerhouses. Also, keep in mind that in the D&D 2 ruleset, you will receive an attack penalty for using a weapon you're not trained in, so check what proficiencies each character has when you first get them.

Otherwise, experiment and have fun! There's a very good reason why these classics have hung around for so long. They are still very good games to experience. Yell if you get stuck, I've been playing the Infinity Engine games for decades at this point, and I'm sure others here would be happy to chime in.

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