Xbox Baldur's Gate Hints

• "Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance" is a role-playing video game. The Xbox version of the game is set in a dark fantasy world where you must overcome monsters, puzzles and other challenges to complete the entire quest. Multiple options are presented throughout the game as you initially choose one out of four characters to play with, all with their own weapon and equipment combinations.

Characters

• When choosing a character, analyze the passive and active feats skills. Passive feats are those that enhance the character's personal skill set, such as accuracy and movement. Active feats are actual types of attacks the character can implement, such as "Ice Arrows."

  The Archer is the most well-rounded character. He has no limitations on weapons and offers the most flexible options for advancement, with the choice of building a character that fights from afar or up close. The Warrior Dwarf can inflict the most damage in melee attacks, but that is his only real advantage. His active feats are very limited, though. The Elf Sorceress is also limited in her range of attacks. Her only truly powerful spell is "Ball Lightning," which is perhaps the most effective weapon against non-boss enemies throughout the game. However, most of the actual bosses are either lightning-immune or only take half the damage from the spell. Drizzt is a useless character since he can carry only three weapons; he should be disregarded.

Fighting

• Most AI enemies find it very difficult to turn full circles, moving very slowly when doing so. Additionally, enemies will not attack you unless you are standing in front of them in a straight line. The combination of these two factors allow for an effective combat strategy. When facing an enemy, run in a circle around it, remaining fairly close for solid strikes. You will always remain slightly ahead as it will always turn slower and will thus be unable to attack you. Your speed advantage should be so great that you will have time to stop and strike before continuing to run. Do this consistently until your opponent dies.

  Similarly, if you take cover behind any object, such as a column or table, the opponent will always take the longer way round to get to you. This allows you to take the shorter route every time, getting to to it quicker and from behind. You will always have the first attack this way and can continue the technique by running back around the object after every attack.

Difficulty

• The Hard mode can be more difficult than Extreme. On Hard, all enemy specifications are upgraded, but your powers remain the same, with the amount of treasures available also the same as on Normal and Easy modes. On extreme, you import a character from a previously completed campaign, starting the mode with end-of-game capabilities, usually around Level 17. There will also be more treasures available on extreme.