Newbie and need help!

[Dakhathsk]

Hey guys I've just recently started into Baldur's Gate 2. I'm very new to this type of RPG so I'm hoping someone can give me some combat pointers, specifically to counter stuns/mind control/confusion etc casting enemies.

It seems almost every battle I fight my main two melee guys are out of the battle for the first 20 seconds at least due to these types of spells while my casters/healers get their asses kicked. I have my priests cast Chaotic Commands on my melee characters which supposedly makes them immune to such things but they end up getting hit with it anyways.

I'm enjoying the story line and the game but I'm getting tired of not being able to use my main guy in any fight where the enemy has a wizard pretty much.

Can anyone give me some tips or tactics? Maybe I'm missing a protection spell of some sort?

[pplr]

try dispel magic to undo some of the charm spells. Free action may help you with getting stunned.

Also there are some items that help resist charm & stun spells. How far are you and what areas are you having trouble with?

[Morthond]

Well, a general tactic is to target the spellcasters first with melee and ranged to interrupt their spell casting. You can also use summons (animals, monsters, elementals, demons, nymphs, skeletons etc.) so that these spells aren't targeted at your main party. Avoidance is really the best defense against these types of spells. However, there are various weapons and armours in the game that give you immunities or protections against them, one example being Aeger's Hide armour in the Adventurer's Mart which gives immunity against confusion (very useful against Umber Hulks).

Beserkers and Barbarians have a rage ability which protects them from lots of different types of disabling spells.

[NOG (No Other Gods)]

My advice, so long as there aren't too many of these casters, is Magic Missle. Have a caster or two of your own hold back on spells and just MM their casters every time they start to cast. MM is quick and guarateed multiple hits, meaning it almost always disrupts castings and almost always goes off before their casting, even if you started a second later.

[Dakhathsk]

The particular instance I'm having trouble with is when you re-enter the Graveyard in pursuit of Bohdi after the Underdark section of the game. You get jumped by several vampires and have no time to manuever. I have the game set to pause as soon as an enemy is sighted so I can set my casters to cast various spells but the vampires always seem to get theirs off first. From that point on most of my characters are running around out of my control and I slowly watch them die.

Thanks for all the info though I'll try some of these strategies out

[Saber]

Negative Plane Protection works wonders against vampires - the reason you die so quickly is because they level drain you. Basically, your macho Level 40 Half-Orc Barbarian can get reduced to a level 4 ninny in a matter of seconds.

Mace of Disruption (+1) works wonders against vampires as well - I believe it not only protects you from level drain, but it also kills them quickly.

[pplr]

The Mace of Disruption provides negative energy protection if (and I think only if) you had it upgraded with the metal Sir Sarles wanted in the quest where one of the temples wants new art.

I believe there are a helmet and/or shield that protect against charm (works well). In SoA the items that protect against negative energy are few. Having a cleric use his/her turning ability can sometimes give you a bit of breathing room to take on only a few vampires at a time or hit them with spells (fireball and smite come to mind).

If you have the mace of disruption the person carrying it should be at the front and act as a shield for the group. When vamps surround your party hit the one that is alone and/or at your party's rear hardest to give yourself a safe direction pull some people back to if they need it.

Summoned monsters can serve as distractions.

The mage or cleric negative energy protection spell is useful but short lived.

If you have a cleric of lathander (the kit) the boon spell is much more usefull. An undead hunter paladin kit is as useful as someone with the upgraded Mace of Disruption. But you may or may not have either of those kits in your party.

You may want to have dispel magic or your own charm spells ready to undo charms on your party or charm/dominate them back to your control.

[kmonster]

Have " protection from evil 10' " active all the time to improve saving throws, a great anti-caster spell is mass invisibility since invisible characters can't be targeted with spells.