It's been a few years since I really got stuck into IWD so I'm back for another playthrough now. I figured I'd jump straight to HoF mode for some added fun.
The party is pretty much figured out:
Fighter/Mage (human, dual to mage)
Paladin
Fighter/Thief (multi)
Fighter/Druid (human, dual to druid)
Ranger/Cleric (multi)
Bard
I think it's working. It's been pretty rough going so far though, but that's expected from starting at level 1.
The question is when should I be dual-classing to mage and druid for best results in HoF? At the moment I've already dualled to mage at Fighter 3, but to be honest it hasn't really been worth it. I feel I could be using that extra Fighter in the orc cave. Chromatic Orb is nice for the blind, but I'm wondering if holding out till Fighter 6 or 9 might be better overall. Considering as well the lack of scrolls early on in the game.
As for the druid, same question. I was already planning to hold out on dualing to Druid till Fighter 6.
I'd like both characters to be decent melee combatants as well as be able to cast spells, though the Paladin will still be my primary melee.
Heart of Fury & Dual Classing
Best fighter level for dualing is 9, you get lots of hitpoints, can put 5 stars into the primary weapon (for 7-12 fighter levels you also get an additional half attack per round, therefore level 6 is too early for dualclassing) for only 250,000 XP total. Each additional fighter level will cost another 250,000 XP and lengthen the dualing period for only a little benefit.