Cant Decide What Class!..

Dezarond the Red · Post by **Dezarond the Red** » Sat Sep 27, 2003 3:24 pm

OK..i know that ive decided on fighter..but ive also decided that it will be boring as the game goes on..cuz there special abilities and stuff in TOB arent that great...so i was thinking....FIGHTER/CLER or FIGHTER/DRUID..is F/D possible by the way...i would just go with the fighter druid so i could wield a blade, cuz i realy dont like any other weapons besides swords...so..uhh...yeah what do i do, if you have any other suggestions of fun classes to play all the way through the game plz do tell!

Loki 65t · Post by **Loki 65t** » Sat Sep 27, 2003 4:09 pm

Fighter/Druid is possible (Jaheira

).

As for the actual class - depends really what you're looking for.
I believe you would find F/Thief much to your liking. Dual wield , hide in shadows , back stab , traps , sheer fact that you'll be the one handling traps/locks (no need to give boots of speed to Jan

) and a wide range of upgrades once you get to high lev abilities.

In terms of power F/Cleric would have the most potential IMO.
Draw upon holy might , righteous magic , champion strg , armor of faith , POE 10' , defensive harmony .... a real fortress kinda fighter. But then no swords.

Fighter/Druid is also great - but some of the time you'd spend casting stuff instead of swinging the Belm.

knarf · Post by **knarf** » Sat Sep 27, 2003 4:27 pm

I prefer a Fighter/Mage myself. That's cuz there are already a Fighter/Druid (as Loki mentioned) and a Fighter/Cleric (Anomen).
F/M let you dual wield and gives you a large scale of spells that can provide better armor and almost an invulnarable fighter (stoneskin, mirror image and that kind of things), give your character a Robe of Vecna (or mithril chainmail) and it will have a considerable AC too.

F/T is also interesting for the points that Loki mentioned, but with the Mage class you can get the Planar Sphere as stronghold, which isn't that annoying is the guildhall in my opinion

I hope this will help you a little

UserUnfriendly · Post by **UserUnfriendly** » Sat Sep 27, 2003 4:50 pm

fighter/cleric enhances fighting ability with spells...think of divine magic as mostly defensive or self augmenting..(imho, a paladin is better than a fighter cleric...but the berserker/cleric is an incredibly nasty and effective combination...)

fighter mages are offensive attack class...improved haste, breach, protection from magic weapons and stoneskin proves great defensive ability as well...and lets not forget tensor's transformation...

what i would use (If i actually used a vanilla character) is to create a fighter mage multi, elven, or kensai mage dual with a high dex and con...strength is a non issue since at the prominade you can buy a strength belt immediately, and if you got draw on holy might as one of your bhaal powers, draw on holy might, and str belt combination will last you for a long time, until you have access to better strength belts or CROM!!!!!!

a kensai mage dual or berserker mage dual, kensai mage is pure killing machine, berserker mage is an incredibly powerful defensive warrior...

of course, what I'm currently using is

something so obscene that i can't even describe it...

kensai paladin(ALL KITS!!!) sorceress cleric druid...

Ron_Lugge · Post by **Ron_Lugge** » Sat Sep 27, 2003 6:25 pm

Originally posted by Loki 65t
In terms of power F/Cleric would have the most potential IMO.
Draw upon holy might , righteous magic , champion strg , armor of faith , POE 10' , defensive harmony .... a real fortress kinda fighter. But then no swords.

FoA / Crom would more than make up for no swords. And the improved skullcrusher is nice (item upgrades mod).

edit:

As is the fulcrum, IIRC (Item upgrades mod club that sets skill in clubs to 5 - grandmastery)

Elemental ZOOT · Post by **Elemental ZOOT** » Sun Sep 28, 2003 7:50 pm

Well good question

FIGHTER-Average fighter-no special abilties is a waste of time
BESERKER-Quite good if you want to dualn but with the winding its not good on its own
WIZARD SLAYER-is most likley the best for Tob- Dual into a thief and have that powerful sword fifragg has (sorry can't spell his name)
KENSAI- Just a waste of time UNLESS you dual to thief in TOB but i guess its ok

RANGER-is ok on its own
ARCHER- Is proberly the 2nd best kit in the game (if you make elf)
BEASTMASTER- Not useful, very weak
STALKER- Haven't tried it but i guess it aint bad

PALADINS RULE
I was undead Hunter and i never got any of my guys level drained, as to me needing only 1 tank
The inquestor - you have Keldorn so thats good
The calivar is only good agnaist dragons and there aint many of them

Cleric's are GREAT but i reccomend if you want one, get a fighter LVL 9 and dual into a cleric.
The HELM,TALOS AND LATHANDER are so-so but i'd rather a fighter cleric

The Thief class is THE BEST class
My guy once did 180 Backstab damage NOW THATS AMAZING!!!
(btw he was an elf assassin)
The bounty Hunter is a waste of time)
At the moment im trying out a swashbuckler and so far its GREAT! Im gonna dual into a mage at lvl 11
The Bard (JUST AVOID THAT CLASS)
Monks are COOL (i'd think its the 2nd best class)
Barbarians and sorcerrors are GREAT BETS

If you want a sorceror have a elf or half elf (resistence to charm)
For a barbarian PICK HALF ORC and your invincible (later on)

Elemental ZOOT · Post by **Elemental ZOOT** » Sun Sep 28, 2003 7:53 pm

In general Either pick

THIEF (HUMAN, dual class into Mage) BEST to have a swashbuckler
BESERKER/CLERIC (human)
BARBARIAN (Half Orc
UNDEAD HUNTER (Human)
ARCHER (elf)
Sorcerror (elf)

Those in my opinion are my best classess
But i advise having the THIEF or SORCEROR

ELEMENTAL ZOOT

nephtu · Post by **nephtu** » Mon Sep 29, 2003 9:27 am

Well..

Fwiw, my first complete play through (start BG1 to end of ToB) character was a Dwarven Fighter/Cleric - it's a nice combination to dual or multi-class. The restriction to blunts is no big problem - there are lots of nice blunt weapons out there.

All the classes (well, except maybe single class druids

) have something good to offer, so play what appeals. The relative merits of dual vs. multi-class are a pretty big topic in themselves, and have been dealt with elsewhere.

In any case, all of the fighter/mage and fighter/priest combos have their merits - one that is often ignored is Cleric/Ranger - I've just started a party with Jaheira hacked to that (well, cleric/stalker, actually) and she's doing REALLY well. Minsc is now an inquisitor, which is....odd. Anyway, cleric rangers get all the compelling abilities of BOTH clerics and druids, a pretty sweet combo.

Actually, fighter special abilities in ToB are pretty great - that ftr/cleric ran through with a melee heavy party Me/Immy/Jaheira/Khalid/Minsc/Dynaheir in BG and mostly me/Jaheira/Minsc/Valygar/Edwin/Jan in SoA/ToB - we could mow down most opposition without the mages doing much more than archery/throwing weapons. Melee heavy parties are, in many ways much easier to run, especially while you're developing an understanding of the way the game works.

So, don't sweat it, you can do fine with pretty well ANY choice.

Promil · Post by **Promil** » Tue Sep 30, 2003 9:53 am

Kensai or Bersrerker Dwarf is the best in melee (STR 18/00, CON 19 is highly recomended) but dwarf cannot be dual class( only human does)
Bowman- I pick up an elf race(min stats: STR 13, DEX 14, CON 14, INT 8, WIS 14, CHA 8). Then give him longbow or shortbow(++++)
dual weapon(+++)<later with level ups at 9th, 12th, 15th level)
and longsword(+)
Amazing class is multiclass Ranger/cleric - good in fight <no swords!!> and can cast both clerical and druidical spells

Promil · Post by **Promil** » Wed Oct 01, 2003 10:27 am

When I wrote about minimal bowman stats I mean minimal class or racial stats not minimal required stats

I have Cleric/Ranger with stats<hmmm I rolled it many times>:
STR 18/00, DEX 18, CON 18, INT 14, WIS 18, CHA 8
That's good for me!!!

Dezarond the Red · Post by **Dezarond the Red** » Thu Oct 02, 2003 12:36 pm

you guys have helped so much thanx...so ive decided on fighter/cleric..but should i dual to cleric (if so...when to dual?) or should i multiclass?

knarf · Post by **knarf** » Thu Oct 02, 2003 1:10 pm

I'd say on level 9, your fighter build up a nice THACO and you can put a lot of the XP into the Cleric so you can get him off the ground really fast

nephtu · Post by **nephtu** » Thu Oct 02, 2003 1:58 pm

Well..

If dual classing a fighter, 9 or 12 are logical spots (extra weapon proficiencies). 9 gets your abilities back a lot sooner, but 12 gives you a bit tougher final product, though most of the benefit will be realised in ToB.

Dual vs. multi depends - the merits of dual classing are that you get all your HLAs in the second class and can typically achieve a higher level, a multi-class gets the HLAs of both classes. I liked my multiclass dwarf a lot, but your opinion may differ. Typically multiclass characters are a bit gimped if you don't have ToB, but it's really a judgement call, so you'll do fine either way - pick the one you like. Remember that abilities like weapon proficiencies form the old class will not be available to you untill your new class is one level higher than the old class, and you need to stick to cleric-usable weapon skills.

Alos, remember that if you do dual class, your fighter (first class) can have a kit, but your cleric (second class) can't -unless you use Shadowkeeper. Multi-class fighter clerics can only have kits through SK.

Good gaming!

Rav · Post by **Rav** » Sun Oct 05, 2003 2:56 pm

I think 13 is also a very intereting point for a fighter to dual - at level 13, you get an extra 1/2 attack per round.

Rav

Sparrows · Post by **Sparrows** » Wed Oct 08, 2003 3:06 am

I like to use Ranger Dual to Cleric at 7. What's great about this class is that you can use both Druid & Cleric spells as you level up. Also, you reap the benefits of being able to specialize in weapons with 3 points in dual weild as allowed in the ranger class.

Before any major fight, I stoneskin, aide, & draw upon holy might.
If necessary, I use either magic resistance (40 % max at lvl 20), or Shadow Armor -for that extra 25% max cusion against magical and physical attacks made against my pc.

When things get tough, I gate in a fiend or blade barrier my way through baddies

. Sure I have the druid spell- swarm, but my PC is my main fighter, so I leave the in-battle spells for Jaheria while Aerie/Anomen cast bless, resist fear, and chant.

Front line tanks
PC Melee
- Flail of Ages, War Hammer +3
- 70 fire resist
Anomen Melee + Range
- Mace of disruption + 2, Guant of Dex
- 50 fire resist
Minsc Melee + Undead Range
- Axe that kills undead

Backup tank and spell casters
Jaheria Melee + Range
- 50 fire resist, saving grace, bone club, guant of orge
Aerie Range
- shield of harmony, mauler's arm, sling of everad
Imoen Range Mage
- Tansheron's Bow, brac ac3

I've only reached the under-dark, so my weapons are still changing. Your PC should be depended on your playing style and what NPCs you would be complimenting. For me I like having many healers because I'm very stingy with my potions. In the future I plan to use Swasbuckler/Mage.

nephtu · Post by **nephtu** » Wed Oct 08, 2003 9:51 am

Hmmm...

Sparrow, I notice you're pretty heavy on blunts... not surprisingly, since your party has 4 priests

- but you show no staves - there is a really nice staff or three out there you might consider using, certainly better than the poor old mace o'disruption - which is really only for vs.undead, by now you should pretty much be able to disrupt them anyway - too bad you have no evil priests, vampires make very nice pets

. Anyway, I'd consider some different weaponry for Sir A if I were you.

Anyway, Ranger/Cleric IS pretty cool - I just hacked Jaheira to that for my latest run through (well, actually, it looks like she's ended up Ranger/Specialty priest of helm, free true sight was too good to give up

)

Have fun!

Harbinger · Post by **Harbinger** » Mon Oct 13, 2003 9:25 pm

If your gonna go fighter/cleric I would recommend choosing the beserker kit over the vanilla fighter. The beserker enrage is not to be underestimated it will save your ass time after time with the immunities. Very useful against Illithids, Liches, and Vampires. I would start with beserker dual at level nine use prof points in flails, hammers and dual weild. You then can arm yourself with Flail of Ages and Crom Faeyr.

VonDondu · Post by **VonDondu** » Mon Oct 13, 2003 11:43 pm

Re: Well..

Originally posted by Dezarond the Red
OK..i know that ive decided on fighter..but ive also decided that it will be boring as the game goes on..cuz there special abilities and stuff in TOB arent that great...

It depends on personal preferences, of course, but I think that high level single-class Fighters are awesome and fun to play. The best way to put it is, "They get the job done." They might not be able to cast spells, but they're TOUGH and they NEVER wear out. If I want to take on a respawning army of fire giants or a horde of respawning orogs, I know which kind of character I want to have in my party.

When I first tried to play the Ascension MOD (Throne of Bhaal) with only one melee warrior in my party, I couldn't beat the game, so I restarted the game just so I could recruit another warrior. That made all the difference.

BTW, if you've been following the comic strip called Dungeon Crawl, which has been discussed at great length in the Speak Your Mind forum, you might notice that the half-orc Fighter in the party is indispensible, and it's always awesome when he gibs an opponent.

Originally posted by nephtu
All of the fighter/mage and fighter/priest combos have their merits - one that is often ignored is Cleric/Ranger...

Actually, from what I've heard, a Cleric/Ranger is one of the most popular characters of all. I didn't jump on the bandwagon immediately, and I had my doubts about it when I first rolled one up, but after playing for a while, I saw the light. IMO, it's a great alternative to a cheesy Kensai-combo.

But of course, some people would argue that Cleric/Rangers are cheesy in their own right, since they get more spells than they should (they shouldn't get 4th-7th level Druid spells). Sounds like sour grapes to me.

Originally posted by nephtu
- I've just started a party with Jaheira hacked to that (well, cleric/stalker, actually) and she's doing REALLY well... Cleric/rangers get all the compelling abilities of BOTH clerics and druids, a pretty sweet combo...

There's no doubt about it, Cleric/Rangers are awesome. And possibly cheesy.

Arcane · Post by **Arcane** » Tue Oct 14, 2003 1:37 pm

[Originally posted by Harbinger
If your gonna go fighter/cleric I would recommend choosing the beserker kit over the vanilla fighter. The beserker enrage is not to be underestimated it will save your ass time after time with the immunities. Very useful against Illithids, Liches, and Vampires. I would start with beserker dual at level nine use prof points in flails, hammers and dual weild. You then can arm yourself with Flail of Ages and Crom Faeyr. [/QUOTE]

I was thinking going Kensai--->12 and then dual, will that work?

Was thinking doing 5 in quarterstaff then cleric

nephtu · Post by **nephtu** » Tue Oct 14, 2003 2:18 pm

Hmmm..

Hmmm....I'd be much more inclined to multiclass a fighter/cleric than to dual (just fiddle the kit to Kensai in SK, dead easy), but it's your show.

Kensai is fine sol long as you're not the one taking the beatings....