Starting from the begining

[Kezelran]

Im starting from the begining of the game after not having played for a couple of years. Can someone tell me what areas/quests of the game to do in what order, so im not getting into fights that are way too hard for me or having my eventually high level party bashing a few lowly goblins cause i missed them early on?

[Harbinger]

Starting from the beginning

Ive started over about a week ago so I can empathise with you. After chapter 1 which is pretty much going with the flow. You come to chapter 2 and you have loads of side quests. I would recomend starting with the missions in the Copper Coronet first going after the slavers then I would try Nalias quest next.

[ObsidianReturns]

I'd recommend staying away from the quests that involve level draing creatures ie shades and vampires.
Nalias keep is a good one to start with because trolls are relatively easy to kill.
Any of the quests you pick up in the slums shouldn't be that difficult. It's been a long time since i"ve played, sorry I can't help to much.

[Necrotaur]

Quests tend to have levelled monsters, which means different creatures will show depending on what your level is. Higher level = more dangerous creatures. For example, instead of encountering 2 skeleton warriors you'll find a lich.

I agree with ObsidianReturns though, stay to the minor Athkatla-specific quests, like the slavers and skinner murders until you're ready to set out. The quest I always found to be the hardest was the Planar Sphere, so you might want to put that one off until later.

[Kezelran]

Thanks for those hints. Another question, can i make a human cleric and then dual to a ranger? I havent been able to find anywhere if you are able to do that.

[VonDondu]

Yes, a Cleric can dual to a Ranger, if your character meets the following stat requirements:

STR 17
DEX 17
CON17
INT 3
WIS 17
CHA 3

Here are my suggestions for the quests:

Chapter One: Irenicus's Dungeon (meet Imoen, Minsc, Jaheira, and Yoshimo)
Chapter Two: the Circus Quest (pick up Aerie if you want her in your party)
meet Gaelan
get some potions, rob the town blind, and find a fence
pick up the NPCs you want in your party--Anomen, Nalia, Korgan, Jan, or Viconia are readily available
loot the Graveyard (don't go downstairs just yet)
meet Wellyn and/or the Paladin and the orphan
head for the Bridge District and solve the kidnapping quest
solve the Bridge District Murders
fight the street thugs you run into
go to the Copper Coronet and accept Nalia's quest
come back to the Copper Coronet and free all of the slaves
go to the Docks District and do Renal's quest (meet Edwin)
now do a major quest--I recommend the Unseeing Eye/Rift Device quest (be prepared for beholders and undead creatures)
(you'll run into a few sidequests along the way, such as the Sea Troll, as well as Keldorn and possibly Haer'Dalis)
do the Temple quests (Sir Sarles, etc.)
now do the labyrinth under the Graveyard District (and/or Korgan's quest and Edwin's quest)
next major quest--Umar Hills (meet Valygar and Mazzy)
now decide whether you want to start Chapter Three or do more quests in Chapter Two

The remaining quests, in no particular order (you can try some of them any time you feel like it), include:

Den of the Seven Vales
The Fallen Paladins
City Gates lich, Elemental Lich, Shade Lich
The Twisted Rune
The Guarded Compound
Chapter Three: the Guild War (fight Kangaxx when you acquire the Mace of Disruption and his assorted parts)
Chapters Four and Five: Spellhold/Sahuagin City/Underdark
Trademeet/Druid Grove
Astral Prison (make sure you have some +3 weapons)
Note: you can meet the tollkeepers and Mekrath a lot earlier in the Temple Sewers
Planar Sphere (not as hard as Windspear Hills IMO)
Windspear Hills (probably the hardest quest you can do in Chapter Two)
The Sewer Key "quest"
Chapter Six: Rhynn Lanthorn
Forest of Tethir
Chapter Seven: Suldanessellar

I don't do everything strictly in that order, but it's a rough guide. Sometimes it just depends on which stronghold I want or which NPCs I have in my party, or it just depends on what I feel like doing at the time. But the first few quests I suggested ought to get you started, and you can go from there.

Have fun.

[Astafas]

I recommend getting down to the Sewers early on for taking out the party waiting there. Reason? Loads of good armor, shields and weapons. Startegy? Make sure to buff with Remove Fear. Identify the Wand of Cloudkill from Irenicus' Dungeon and throw in the baddie to the mean people. Add Smite Evil, lots of Fireballs, a Web spell or two, maybe some Hold Persons and the battle is over. Have your Fighter with the lowest AC stand in front to occupy the Axe thrower.

Next good quest to do early on? Trademeet! Easy to complete and earns you good loot as well as the possibility to pickpocket the merchant in Trademeet for Tancheron's Bow, the Club Blackblood and several other great stuff!

After these two, you're so well equipped the other quests won't cause you any major problem (hold off the Twisted Rune, though. )

[Balinor]

If your PC is a paladin or you have Keldorn in your party, I might consider doing the Windspear Hills quest a little earlier (maybe instead of the Umar Hills) given the power of the Holy Avenger. I always found the Umar Hills quite difficult itself (but I've read in these forums that it is significantly easier if you're a lower level), so if you want, Windspear might better fit your needs at the beginning of the game. Plus, the loot is considerably better than Umar.

And I wholeheartedly agree about the small party in the sewers. In my last time through the game, I fought them 2 days after Irenicus' Dungeon, and their equipment was adorning my companions for quite a few days after.

After you do that, why not clear out the rest of the main sewers level as well? There are a few items of note and one potion merchant. It wouldn't take too long, and if you leave it for too long, when you finally get around to it, it would be horribly boring for your high level party.