a TRUE beginner

Hello. I'm looking for a good FAQ for tips on the combat system for Icewind. I like it so far (I've never played Baldur's Gate), but it's so fast, and I'd like to know how to maximize my success! Any help would be appreciated...

Well, you can first become acquainted with the space bar--pause, that is. Pausing before any combat begins will give you the opportunity to come up with a good strategy, and to brace yourself in the event that things are gonna be bad, no matter what. Pause as soon as you see any enemy, plot your characters accordingly, and then unpause. Pause again whenever you want to change your strategy. Also, learn to appreciate the beauty of arrows, crossbows, etc.--missile weapons are essential, since you must be right next to your foe when using melee weapons (which is not always a good idea). You might want to pick up the Icewind Dale clue/strategy book; it's quite helpful, though don't read too much, since that will spoil the fun (the book gives away all the surprises). Good luck (oh, and try Baldur's Gate if you like Icewind Dale--definitely!).

If you go to Gameplay Options on the options menu, you can select when you want the game to autopause. My roommate SWEARS by this. You can set the game to automatically pause when someone is attacked, when someone reaches low hit points, when a missile weapon runs out of ammo, all kinds of options. You can disable them later once you get the hang of things and want to start pausing on your own, but it's good in the beginning while you're new with it all.

Thanks for the tips, very helpful!!

Hi, there! Since you need tips, I will give you some combat tips, as well as some magical cantrips. These are the tactics I used to complete BG...

Ranged weapons are king...rather. They are very powerful against mages. When fighting against a full party, make your 1 or 2 fighters fire their bolts and arrows against the ones using missile weapons or mages and priests. The strongest sword or axe arm will meet the enemy melee fighers head on to distract them. Your mages and cleric should use magic missiles and stones to disrupt the enemy spellcasters.

During chapter 1 and 2, it is imperative that you memorize at least 1 shield spell for your mage. Certain undead such as imbued wights have a charge of magic missile that never misses, but will be negated by the shield spell. Use class specialties against various enemies too. Against giants and goblins, use your dwarf. Against disease causing critters, use paladins. Melee against mages will be successful if you use your ranger with their pseudo dual weapon usage.

Another tip -- Your thief serves two very important tasks. First, he scouts for traps. Second, he scouts for enemies. The problem is he really can't do both at the same time. I have found that traps are often laid down in logical places, in front of doors, in front of key enemies, in narrow passageways and around treasure boxes. I tend to keep find trap on when in those locations. At all other times I run my thief ahead in stealth mode and try to use my archers to pick off one enemy at a time as my thief reveals them. Remember, most of the time enemies will only attack those they can see, so even though your thief may see the whole army, only that character being attacked will respond to the archer barrage. Whatever you do, however, don't engage in melee combat with your fighters or the rest of the enemy party may see them and attack. Also, when engaged in long ranged attack it is best to retreat your thief in case he loses his hide.

Also, try to get someone into melee range with enemy archers as quickly as possible. Plunking away at them from a distance doesn't disrupt their attack, and they can pick you to pieces in the exchange. I have my biggest fighter wearing a pair of boots of speed, and he runs for the archers to get them to drop their bows and use their swords (which they're usually less skilled with).

Creating good characters are important to complete IWD. But if you are the type of person that doesn't like max abilities, I don't think you'll like this...
(Ability scores in order: strength, dexterity, constitution, intelligence, wisdom, charism, x stands for anything)
Fighter: 18/00, 17-19, 17-19, x, x, x (i know that 18/00 is real tough to get, but its bonuses are too great to ignore)
Cleric: 16+, 17-19, 16, x, 18, 13+ (it is rumored that turn undead is dependant on charisma)
Mage: 16+, 16+, 16, 18-19, x, x
Thief: 17+, 18+, 16, x, x, x

Weapon specialization tips should come in handy.
For elven fighters, it is imperative that you get a mastery of bow and grand mastery of the long sword. Crank up the dexterity to max, its a must. They get a +1 bonus using these weapons. Suggested: bow 3, long sword 4, mace 2
For dwarven fighters, get your maces and axes or great swords. I personally think that dwarven fighters should reframe from missile weapons. Their high poison resistance makes them ideal against poisonous enemies like spiders. They have +1 bonus against orcs and goblins due to racial hatred. Giants have -4 attack rolls against them, so don't be afraid using dwarfs slugging it out with them. Suggested: Axe 5 (must have), Mace 3/4 (depends on your inclination to missile weapons) Crossbows 1
Paladins should specialize in great swords, crossbows and a bludgeoning weapon. Suggested: great sword 2, crossbow 2, flail 2, halberds 2,dagger 1 (against mages)
Elven rangers are perhaps the best (you can argue about that). Suggested: bow 2, long sword 2, spear or halberd 2, mace 2, short sword 1

For the fighter (except your elven ranger or fighter), try to get specialization of a bladed AND a bludgeoning weapon. Using bladed weapons against skeletal or plate armoured enemies aren't really smart. Next time, when you see liches and beetles, try crushing them instead.

I am a very racially harmonious person. My party consisted of all the races:
paladin- human
ranger- elf
fighter- dwarf
cleric(fighter druids are great too)- half-elf
mage- gnome
thief- halfling.
The races' special abilities are maximized this way and at the same time, you'll feel good when your multi-racial party just virtually defeats anything in their path.