What is the best lvl to dual my Kensai to a mage?

[roguekiller]

most people say 9 and some say 12 but what do you people think??

[MegaToerist]

I think it really depends on your style:
- If you want to have a wizard with nice melee capabilities, dual at 9
- If you want to have a decent fighter with a spell repertoire, go for 12.
- I'd say to hold the dual off untill hitting level 13 though: this is where you get an extra 1/2 attack, which is certainly nice I think.

From the three options (dualling at 9, at 12 or at 13), my personal choice is dualling into Wizard at level 13

TC, Geert

[Astafas]

Level 9. You've got the most out from the Kensai and will soon have a great Kensai/Mage. I really can't see the need for waiting longer.

[caddyman]

im bout to make a kensai mage but at lvl 9 wouldnt his thaco suck?

[MegaToerist]

It would be terrible if compared to pure fighters with the same XP, but fantastic when compared to a wizard . Don't forget there's the one fix-it-all spell: Tenser's Transformation.

TC, Geert

[Magior]

In SoA, the experience cap limits you to:

- lvl 9/17. Re-activate kensai at 500K exp. You can reach the max level as a wizard. In any case, this option is far superior to pure mage. Also, for a SoA-only soloer, it's damn easy (scrolls) to re-activate kensai abilities.

- lvl 12/15. +4 thac0 and +1 dam compared to above. You lose 8th level spells this way.
Re-activation at 2125K exp.

- lvl 13/14. ½ more attacks/round. In most hard fights, you'll be imp hasted to make that 1. Re-activation at 2750K. You only lose 2 spell slots (4th,5th) to the above and get the far more powerful extra-attack.

With no ToB installed, I'd go for 9/17 to get maximum use from the characted early on. Tenser's makes up for most high-level kensai boni.

With ToB installed, the story is far different. This is a SoA forum, so I narrow my view to examine pure SoA with ToB installed. During ToB, most same things apply as well.

Soloing, following levels may be obtained with the ToB experience cap.

-9/30
-12/28
-13/28

As it seems, 13 is strictly superior to 12. The only difference between a 28th level mage and a 30th level mage is 2 hit points. Dualling at level 13 is the only sensible option here.

Perhaps 19/24 would end up as the most powerful combination, not having to buff up for every damn fight...

[MegaToerist]

You're right, tram. In a SoA game only, waiting until reaching level 13 is a not the best idea; 9th level is the way to go.
With ToB however, I would certainly go for a dual at level 13. Remember that you're no full fighter (no whirlwinds,...), so that a certain amount of buffing will be required before the harder fights. A Kensai/Mage is not the main tank, although he can become one with spell protections.
Waiting until level 19 before dualling is, IMO, not the best way to go: before you can reactivate your Kensai abilities, you'll have to wait a very long time. Perhaps waiting until level 15 might maker the cut, but I think that level 13 is the better choice based upon power vs. speed.

TC, Geert

[Astafas]

Originally posted by MegaToerist:
<STRONG>It would be terrible if compared to pure fighters with the same XP, but fantastic when compared to a wizard . Don't forget there's the one fix-it-all spell: Tenser's Transformation.

TC, Geert</STRONG>

Absolutely true. And at level 9 you've taken full advantage of the Fighter's Hit Dice and you've got yourself lots of profiency points. That's why I'd prefer to dual at this level and regain the Kensai class pretty soon. It's a long way to go til 12 or 13 level...