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I've made several posts on Improved Anvil (IA) in the past. Here's a sticky for my review. This particular review applies to IA5, the most current version at the time of this post.
Improved Anvil Review
Sikret is the mod author. He is very responsive to posts at Black Wyrm, and is continually developing Improved Anvil (IA). IA is extensively play tested prior to release. IA is huge, although the file size is not as huge as some of the cinematic mods. IA includes extensive revisions of the rules and creatures of the game. It also introduces new creatures, kits, items, and content. It is remarkably stable and bug-free. It is also indisputably the most difficult mod available for BG2.
If you can beat Ascension on insane with a single character (solo), then you may find this game pleasantly challenging. If you consider yourself a very good player (but not that good) and are willing to do some reloading and metagaming, then you may also enjoy this game. Reiterating, if you are a good tactical player and are looking for a challenge, then IA may be for you.
IA5 is very difficult. New players and those with marginal tactical skill probably should not install this mod, because you will find it very frustrating.
The original game could be trounced by a thief or a mage. The thief’s and mage’s stellar offensive power has been greatly attenuated. Spell casters will be protected from backstab by spell magic, and many monsters have an inherent immunity. Traps, including Spiked traps, do not work against many monsters, and almost all of the really tough monsters are immune. The mage does have limited offensive capability, but he is no killer like in the original game. The mage is very useful to buff the team, debuff the enemy, interrupt enemy mage spell casting, and add a little offense every now and then. It was essential to curtail some of the thief’s and mage’s offensive power to allow a challenging game. If the thief backstabs and kills the mage before he does his sophisticated script of player annihilation, then the challenge is gone. If a mage is able to kill entire party of monsters with chained Horrid Wilting, there is no challenge either. If you want to be able to use these techniques, don’t bother installing IA.
The most effective offense in IA is melee. That’s not to say that other tactics, such as archery or spells, are ineffective. However, *generally* melee allows more damage and is more reliable to do damage than archery and spells against the improved IA enemies. If you don’t like the melee-style of playing, you probably won’t like IA.
In the original game, it is relatively easy to solo. As of IA version 5, it is impossible or extremely difficult to beat this game with a solo character. A party of 5 or 6 characters is recommended. If you like Solo play, don’t install IA.
Each version of Improved Anvil becomes more difficult than the last. The present version is difficult enough that I sometimes consider playing IA as more work than joy. And this is a huge criticism. I succeed, but some battles take a great deal of effort. That’s not fun when you are looking for a brief respite from a very long day at work before bed. Tactical wizards (players) probably would not complain. Furthermore, play should become easier as you learn the necessary tactics and metagame. Still, the learning curve can be very steep, particularly for those people who have never played earlier versions of IA.
I love to play many mods together and experience the creativity of many authors. Unfortunately, IA5 works with less mods than the previous version, and the next version of IA will work with less mods than the present version. If you have a favorite mod or a mod you would like to try out, you should definitely check with Sikret before trying to run it with IA, because many times the mods will not work together. If you like running BG2 with many mods installed, IA may not be for you.
So, all in all, I love IA. I keep it on my computer, but I only play it when I am rested and ready for a challenge. At other times, I play something easier, like an extensively modded (for difficulty) game with SCS2, Ascension, etc. and play on insane difficulty.
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