I can hear the angry mutterings allready. I`m going to have a go with Kensai/Mage this time.
I wanted to get to level 13 before dualing but this guy is getting mugged by old ladies! I knew it would be difficult at first, not being able to wear armour but I didn`t know it would be this bad.
When does he get some sort of protection? I have Aerie in my party and was hoping she could give him some sort of magical armour, but she hasn`t got those spells yet.
I hoped the Kensai might have the magical armour but he hasn`t.
Any strong opinions as to his best sword choice? I have the Daystar so far.
Cheers
Kensai/Mage
Heh..
Well, there's some help but not a lot. Since Kensai are prohibited from wearing all body armour and bracers (all the good defensive gear) you need to use all the pro rings, capes, etc. you can get, plus high DEX. There is a shield necklace which can help some, I think Kensai can use it, and you can always use the potion swap trick to put up defensive spells
They still won't be a preferred choice for taking hits, however, so you should try to have someone else to take the beatings - as a Kensai, your forte will be dishing out damage, not taking it, at least untill you get all those wizzy mage protections
Kensai have a wide choice of weapons, flavour to taste. I like blunts myself (las Kensai mage was dual wielding flails), you could legitimately GM staves and put 2* in two hand weapons by the time you get to 13 - spend your mage weapon points on ranged weapons a Kensai CAN use, like throwing daggers - since your mage self definitely wants to stay OUT of melee, then come back to using the staff of the magi once Kensai abilities are re-enabled. Or alternatively, go dual wield in anything from katana to axes.
Good gaming!
Well, there's some help but not a lot. Since Kensai are prohibited from wearing all body armour and bracers (all the good defensive gear) you need to use all the pro rings, capes, etc. you can get, plus high DEX. There is a shield necklace which can help some, I think Kensai can use it, and you can always use the potion swap trick to put up defensive spells
They still won't be a preferred choice for taking hits, however, so you should try to have someone else to take the beatings - as a Kensai, your forte will be dishing out damage, not taking it, at least untill you get all those wizzy mage protections
Kensai have a wide choice of weapons, flavour to taste. I like blunts myself (las Kensai mage was dual wielding flails), you could legitimately GM staves and put 2* in two hand weapons by the time you get to 13 - spend your mage weapon points on ranged weapons a Kensai CAN use, like throwing daggers - since your mage self definitely wants to stay OUT of melee, then come back to using the staff of the magi once Kensai abilities are re-enabled. Or alternatively, go dual wield in anything from katana to axes.
Good gaming!
I have given up all lesser evils as inadequate to my purpose.
If i recall correctcly... if you dual a kensai to a mage at level8 you can still rich the same level in ToB as you would with a vanilla mage, however i think you dual at level 9 if you only have SoA if you want to achieve the max mage level.
Kensai / Mage works so well because they both have the same weakness.
Kensai cant wear armor, mage cant wear armor... kensai's AC lower's level by level, and being a fighter kit when you get him you can automatically at level 7 have enough profiency points to put into 7 slots (ie GM in staffs / katanas ect). If a kensai could wear armor his AC would be extremely low, giving him say the robe of veccena = good armor, plus his natural low AC, ok he cant melee everything and take the damage, but he sure can dish it out. Personally i dont think GM in staffs is a good idea, if you can wait until the kensai is reactivated in the long run dual wielding cheese combos (crom fayer / celestial fury) will be far better.
Oh, a bit of a cheesy hint here. consider kicking everyone from your party (except for your romance if you have one) and mass learn all the scrolls you have, this will share out the exp only between the party members that you have, allowing you to get faster exp and your levels up quicker.
The only thing that really hampers a kensai / mage early on is as nephetu said, the inability to wear bracers... allthough the best bracers are bracers of death AC.3, with robe of veccena, 18 dex and a decent cloak you have under this anyway.. so no big deal later on, but early on its pretty tough.
You might want to consider trying a Berserker / Cleric also. Same sort of thing. Only with cleric spells, and less well known.
Kensai / Mage works so well because they both have the same weakness.
Kensai cant wear armor, mage cant wear armor... kensai's AC lower's level by level, and being a fighter kit when you get him you can automatically at level 7 have enough profiency points to put into 7 slots (ie GM in staffs / katanas ect). If a kensai could wear armor his AC would be extremely low, giving him say the robe of veccena = good armor, plus his natural low AC, ok he cant melee everything and take the damage, but he sure can dish it out. Personally i dont think GM in staffs is a good idea, if you can wait until the kensai is reactivated in the long run dual wielding cheese combos (crom fayer / celestial fury) will be far better.
Oh, a bit of a cheesy hint here. consider kicking everyone from your party (except for your romance if you have one) and mass learn all the scrolls you have, this will share out the exp only between the party members that you have, allowing you to get faster exp and your levels up quicker.
The only thing that really hampers a kensai / mage early on is as nephetu said, the inability to wear bracers... allthough the best bracers are bracers of death AC.3, with robe of veccena, 18 dex and a decent cloak you have under this anyway.. so no big deal later on, but early on its pretty tough.
You might want to consider trying a Berserker / Cleric also. Same sort of thing. Only with cleric spells, and less well known.
What goes around's been around.
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Kaitsuburi
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Oh, come on!Originally posted by davfra
I can hear the angry mutterings allready. I`m going to have a go with Kensai/Mage this time.
This is the classic character in BGII IMHO. Has its downsides but is potentially very very powerful. I have played through with a kensai/mage quite a few times (inspired by Littiz on many an occasion ). The thing I like most about kensai/mages is the fine touch -- you don't just go hack and slash like a barbarian relying on rage/armor for protection; you actually get to use spells strategically, making it challenging and a lot of fun, especially with few NPCs.
**light spoiler**
You can take on super-hard mod enemies like Pontifex or improved Bodhi and come out unscathed and victorious if you do it right
**end of light spoiler**
katanas/long swords feels/look "right" on the Kensai/Mage but any weapon choice would be fine. Try staves, or two-handed swords. Some blunt combination...
Enjoy your kensai/mage!!
-kaitsuburi
~~ aim low, deliver.
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Coconut_Crab
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- Joined: Wed Oct 02, 2002 4:35 pm
- Location: Canada
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`Originally posted by davfra
I can hear the angry mutterings allready. I`m going to have a go with Kensai/Mage this time. `
What I meant was that there was allready a lot of posts on here on this subject and I didn`t want to bore all you old stalwarts!
My kensai is now level 11 and he`s just taken the shade litch in the unseeing eye zone out on his own using daystar.
I`m very impressed with him to say the least. He has daystar and another sword and when he gets going, he`s like a windmill!
Cheers
`Originally posted by davfra
I can hear the angry mutterings allready. I`m going to have a go with Kensai/Mage this time. `
What I meant was that there was allready a lot of posts on here on this subject and I didn`t want to bore all you old stalwarts!
My kensai is now level 11 and he`s just taken the shade litch in the unseeing eye zone out on his own using daystar.
I`m very impressed with him to say the least. He has daystar and another sword and when he gets going, he`s like a windmill!
Cheers