GameBanshee Forums

recently I have started playing BG:EE again, it is good to be back.

I have been focused on Wizard Slayers - a kit that felt too restricted in BG2, but wrecks shop in BG1, the long term goal is eventually to dual to rogue to a. be the party thief in bg2 / tob and b. use any item.

A few thoughts ...

looking back, the most fun I had on a playthrough was a dwarf ftr / cleric, a cleric / fighter mix just makes a lot of sense from a lot of standpoints:

1. if you die, it's game over. if you live - after a certain point you can then rez dead people. (cuts down on the need to re-load)
2. from a ...

I think 5/10 for Icewind Dale 2 is outrageously low and not at all deserving of such negativity.

There's enough variety of character creations to enable huge numbers of replay adventures without much loss of appeal at all, the statistical permutations of which is mind-boggling.

Agree with this ...

gnasher or blackblood re very underrated weapons.

the cool thing w/ gnasher, is the splinter effect is similar to the flail of ages in that it busts through protections - and it persists for 4 rounds. it can and will interupt a mages casting even when they are in a timestop.

jaheira is very ...

i have a real soft spot for the flail of ages, in all my runs through the game, somebody is using it as a primary weapon at all times.

a. of the "power" weapons it's the easiest to get.
b. utility wise, it's blunt so it's still good against stuff like clay golems, the elemental damage kills trolls ...

of that list:

keldorn
aerie
anomen (pass test)
nalia until imoen, or jan

that can form the backbone of a really solid (good) group:
2 tanks ano & keldorn
2 healers ano & aerie
2 mages nalia & aerie (jan)

--

mazzy / valygar can add more missle & melee support, valygar also has stealth and ...

If you do any of the side quests before going to Spell Hold Nali is the better mage, she'll be at least one level, and usually two or more, higher than Imoen; both are inadequate thieves without potion/item boosts so I don't understand anyone thinking Imoen is better when she patently isn't ...

do you get any dialogue options w/ jah before that happens? is your reputation already below 2? i've never seen her bolt at that point.

i'd suggest a re-try and use the more supportive dialogue options with her in the dungeon, else like roller1234 suggests check the support forums for any mods you ...

Later in the game, Dex doesnt lead to less damage taken, directly or otherwise, equipment slots are not lost from str items and you dont have to start with maxed(or sufficient) wis to to be able to dual later. In a better case scenario can get away with 13 starting wis.

remember this isn't the ...

generally:

i go for a 2-2-2 minimum party construction, 2 tanks, 2 mages, 2 divine casters. since many of the npcs can fit 2 roles that leaves you with a party of pc + 3-4 npcs, then you can flex in whatever you want ie extra tank, mage, divine caster or a utility like a thief. imho a single class ...

that was my problem with the monk as well, some cool abilities, but ultimately i liked gearing the other npc's & pc's more.

A party of mages ofcourse is alot more time and trouble to play, but Id be hard pressed to believe they would be more powerful. At last I am very impressed compared to my first party, which was a mixed party. Maybe its just the powergaming elements (stats) I am mixing in here.

for me personally ...

i'm actually a bit curious to try a wizard slayer, on paper i'm not a fan of the restrictions though.

they could rock and roll in a tutu environment, esp starting with a 19 str half orc. i suspect they'd be incapable of using bg1's tomes so that limits some of their power play potential.

i ...

2. Aerie: I don't think I'll take her next time. Her ability to learn both Cleric and Mage spells is nice, but she's a multiclass. By the end of the game I had to realise that this hinders her effectiveness massively. She learnt a single ninth level spell, at the very end of the game, before ...

Dualwielding is always better since you do more damage, you don't even need 2 proficiency points in order to do this effectively.


there may be a few situations where a shield provides some kind of a buff / immunity that is helpful, but by and large yes, two weapons are usually better.

but i'd ...

no there is nothing wrong with that team, it's solid, has a good balance of tanks, healers, casters, has enough thief to deal with the vast majority of things you need a thief for.

personally i'd likely swap out minsc in favor of keldorn or saravok as imho both of them have more utility than minsc ...

i'll agree on two handed weapons as the most effective way to deal melee damage. one handers + shields can be effective in the right situations as well - especially if you are trying to deal blunt damage.

and if you aren't using ftr or ranger levels, i'm not sure dual wield really pays off vs the ...

The main thing about figter/bard is melee attacking with buff and protective spells (MI, haste, mage armor, blur, stoneskin, bull's strength etc.)

of that list only mi & blur are self casting only. both are incredibly good spells even well into hof despite being only level 2 spells. everything ...

Race is unimportant. I'd take human for the bonus feat, eventually half-orc barbarian1/bard for 20 str.
Dump int and wis to the minimum, you don't need it. Max strength for max damage and 2 of dex, con, cha (one stat must be 2 below maximum) depending on your preferences.

1/2 orc? in 20 str ...

Anyone can be a Harper, they are a secret society, so there would be no need for anyone to know in BG1 who was or who wasn't, apart from blabbermouth Jaheira.

meh, tastes differ but imho this would have given one of the few bg2 npc's a real "biff the understudy" kind of feel to them, and would ...