Well I've reinstalled BG2 after reformatting and have decided to solo the game (once again). I'm looking for something a little different and a class I haven't solo'd with before (not many I haven't ).
I'm at a bit of a cross road as to which druid kit I should take. Each kit has small bonuses that would all be helpful. At this stage I'm leaning towards a shapeshifter, however not having armour really makes me feel uncomfortable. Does anyone know of a table somewhere that lists the greater werewolf stats? I can't remember correctly, do the "claws" get better the higher level you go I think I remember something about the armour class getting better? Or can you recommend one of the other kits?
Any help you can give would be apreciated. I'm trying to go for a class that'll take me out of my comfort zone a bit, more of a challenge
Personally I would go with the Avenger. Much more diverse in my opinion as you can cast some very helpful mage spells. Last time I played a non avenger I noticed how much the druid lacks direct attack offensice spells. So I really realized how useful the avenger is compared to the other druids.
And if you want to get around the strength con loss just import from bg1.
Thanks Crownhead I apreciate the input I checked out that table before posting but it doesn't really answer everything I wanted to know about the abilities (specifically once you get to greater werewolf). It's more the AC rating and the damage the claws do as you level up.
How about a berserker dual to druid? That would give you some good offensive melee power, better defense (use of metal armour), and dualling at 8-9 you wan't lose anything on the druidic side (apart from kit), plus you have rage!
Or the G3 Tweak mod will allow you to dual a barbarian to a druid (requirements STR 15 WIS 17 CHA 17) as well as offering the option to have druids use the same XP and spell casting tables as clerics, thus negating that massive XP lull between level 14 and 15.
You won't get the weapon porificiencies of the berserker but at level 11 you'd get 10% resistance to the various types of physical attacks, move faster, immune to backstab, and would have more HP.
I tried the exp rebalancing mod, but didn't like it. A big bonus is you can level very quickly early on (granted with a big delay later). It makes it very tempting to dual a druid over to a fighter, which I've done (level 12 totemic druid needed only 300K exp, so it doesn't take much out of the potential exp for your next class). Now I have a fighter that can buff with iron skins, take out mages with insect plagues, then march in and kick ass with a sub-0 THACO.
I personally prefer the Totemic Druid to the Avenger... the avenger's mage spells are added to the pool of spells you can stick in your available spell slots, whereas the totemic druid's summoning abilities are special abilities that are cast almost instantly, and leave the spell slots available for more offensive/defensive spells.
[QUOTE=Nimiety]...I personally prefer the Totemic Druid to the Avenger... the avenger's mage spells are added to the pool of spells you can stick in your available spell slots, whereas the totemic druid's summoning abilities are special abilities that are cast almost instantly, and leave the spell slots available for more offensive/defensive spells...[/QUOTE]
Oh? And what offensive/defensive spells are you referring to? Magic Pebble? Spiritual Hammer? Just about the best thing a druid can do is summoning. And in my opinion, it really makes me mad to just stand on the sidelines while others fight my battles.
Don't get me wrong, I like the Totemic Druid, but there is one flaw with the spells and one flaw with the summons.
The druids useful spells are all on the same levels. This leaves tons of unused spells that go to waste every time you rest. When you get to a high level you barely use any low level spells anymore. Levels 1, 2 and 4 are basically full of things that you won't use. I would say 3 too, but it's kind of half and half. One half when you indoors and the other when your out. So basically your only using half the spells you have. The Avenger solves this problem with the mage spells he gets. And then the higher level mage spells are just a bonus when you really need to do quick damage, namely Chain Lightning.
The only problem I have with the Totemic Druid is by the time you get to the end of SoA the spirit summons are practically useless, as they die very quickly. If they were to upgrade or something at the beginning of ToB I'd be more inclined to use the class. But it seems to me that that five spirit summons could be outdone by say, five fire or earth elementals.
[QUOTE=CrownHead]Oh? And what offensive/defensive spells are you referring to? Magic Pebble? Spiritual Hammer?[/QUOTE]
Well, let's just see, now...
Level 1 spells: doom, armor of faith, maybe a bless
Level 2 spells: barkskin, slow poison
Level 3 spells: dispel magic, invisibility purge, sommon insects, even a cure medium wounds or two...
Level 4 spells: call woodland beings, negative plane protection, poison, defensive harmony
Level 5 spells: true sight, iron skins, chaotic commands, insect plague
Level 6 spells: harm, heal, woundrous recall, summon fire elemental
Level 7 spells: creeping doom, nature's beauty
These are some of my favorites, in fact I typically don't waste any slots on summoning when I can do it for free, so to speak. To use your own words, I like to do my own fighting and don't like waiting on the sidelines. The summons are perfect for a distraction to get you in and meleeing.
I'd say over all level 2 is rather weak on choices, but there is a good enough range to spells to be helpful with proper selection...
[QUOTE=CrownHead]The only problem I have with the Totemic Druid is by the time you get to the end of SoA the spirit summons are practically useless, as they die very quickly.[/QUOTE]
True enough, like I said above, if your tactic is something to fight on your behalf, grab an elemental. It would have been neat if the animals scaled up with the caster's levels though (adding an extra +1 thaco and 1HD every, say 10 levels).
The main reason I wanted to solo with a druid is because previously I ususally have solo'd with a character with some sort of fighter abilities (with the exception of the sorc). I've completed SOA with a ranger/cleric dual so that was just like a fighter/druid. I wanted to do the pure druid solo as a bit of a challenge and as something I haven't done before.
I hope I do stick with it, but similar to Crownhead I dislike having to send in others to do my fighting. So I think I'll go with the shapeshifter with the ease of use mod (thanks Mazeh!). So then I'll be at least partially useful when melee is required.
[QUOTE=Nimiety]These are some of my favorites, in fact I typically don't waste any slots on summoning when I can do it for free, so to speak. To use your own words, I like to do my own fighting and don't like waiting on the sidelines. The summons are perfect for a distraction to get you in and meleeing.[/QUOTE]
And what are you going to waste the slots on other than summoning?
[QUOTE=Nimiety]Well, let's just see, now...
Level 1 spells: doom, armor of faith, maybe a bless
Level 2 spells: barkskin, slow poison
Level 3 spells: dispel magic, invisibility purge, sommon insects, even a cure medium wounds or two...
Level 4 spells: call woodland beings, negative plane protection, poison, defensive harmony
Level 5 spells: true sight, iron skins, chaotic commands, insect plague
Level 6 spells: harm, heal, woundrous recall, summon fire elemental
Level 7 spells: creeping doom, nature's beauty
[/QUOTE]
Let's take a look at the offensive spells you have there. (Not counting summons)
1 - None, unless you count doom
2 - None
3 - Summon Insects (outdone once you get creeping doom or insect plague)
4 - Poison (this is actually good once you get to a high level. That is if they aren't immune and if they don't make the save)
5- Insect Plague (outdone once you get Creeping Doom)
6 - Harm (this is good, if you manage to make the hit. And where you really need it against dragons and stuff it would be faster to just apply tactics to kill it rather than reloading a million times)
7 - Creeping Doom and Nature's Beauty: I won't lie these are definately the best spells in the druid's list.
And then 7, which I don't need to argue against as the Avenger doesn't gain any mage spells for that level.
I don't know about you, but I think it's kind of pointless to have a bunch of defensive spells if you don't have any offensive spells. Let's go through you defensive spells now...
[QUOTE=Nimiety]Level 1 spells: doom, armor of faith, maybe a bless[/QUOTE]
Armor of Faith is good, and bless is pretty much useless. Bless adds +1 to attack rolls and morale which is good up to maybe level 4.
Barkskin is good to help raise AC, kind of like Blur. Slow Poison becomes useless pretty early on whether because you found the Periapt Proof Against Poison at the Druid Grove or because you get to high enough level that your immune to it.
[QUOTE=Nimiety]Level 3 spells: dispel magic, invisibility purge, even a cure medium wounds or two...[/QUOTE]
Dispel Magic is pretty good, by level ten it's actually guaranteed to work and it still only removes one thing. So in the case a mages you have to cast about five times before enough protections go down so you can hit it.
Invisibility Purge is actually good, but there's a drawback. The only things you'd want to cast it on are Thieves and Mages. Thieves you shouldn't have to worry about with Iron Skins. And mages you don't need to make visible to get an Insect Plague on, just shoot it somewhere near them.
Cure Medium Wounds? 14 Points of health? Not useful.
Call Woodland beings I actually agree with, very useful. Negative Plane Protection? Only need it against Vampires and by the time you fight any major ones you should have the Amulet of Power. Defensive Harmony is OK, it's better if you combine it with Barkskin, but it only lasts for 36 seconds.
[QUOTE=Nimiety]Level 5 spells: true sight, iron skins, chaotic commands[/QUOTE]
True Sight? I thought you liked Invisibility Purge? Choose one.
Iron Skins I have nothing against. Probably the best defensive spell
Chaotic Commands is useful, but you don't usually need it unless your fighting Umber Hulks or a very determined mage (who by the way shouldn't be a problem if you have any kind of Insect Spell.)
[QUOTE=Nimiety]Level 6 spells: heal, woundrous recall, summon fire elemental[/QUOTE]
This I won't argue with. Good choice in spells.
So, you have a few defensive spells that give you better AC and morale overall. And Poison and Harm.
One thing I've noticed about the Cleric is his nice buffing spell (ie spells that make you a better fighter). The thing about the druid is he doesn't have any of these, all he has is defensive spells. And what the hell is the point of a good defense if you have no offense? That is unless your a Totemic Druid/Fighter in which case you can run forward and attack.
Anyway my point is your not wasting any spells by doing summoning. Hell, that's basically what the druid does best. There's not much else for him to do. UNLESS he's an Avenger in which case he can hang back and let the offensive spells fly while his summons lay waste. That's why I like the Avenger, as the alternative is attacking which the druid doesn't do very well. (As I said, basically no offensive buffing spells)
They really put you in a rut as a druid, because what else can you do but buff summon and attack?
They solved this problem with two classes. One is the Shapeshifter. Do all the summoning and Iron Skins maybe then turn Werewolf and join the battle. The other is the Avenger. Same tactic accept instead of attacking the enemies you pummel them with offensive spells.
And then there's the Totemic druid. He is still reduced to attacking but has the advantage of summoning in the middle of battle.
This could be quite a debate in a different thread... Who's better? Ha.
EDIT: Good choice Angel. The Shapeshifter is very fun.
Bugger - you are right Crownhead that Druidic spells are limited on offense (although I still hold that the offense they have is particularly useful). I forget that one of the mods I have gives a few clerical spells to druids, with my favorite being righteous magic (especially my favorite druid/fighters).
My current spell selections are (12/14 dualled totemic druid fighter):
1 - 3 x doom, 1 x sanctuary, 2 x armor of faith, 1 x cure light wounds, entangle, bless
2 - 2 x slow poison, 3 x chant, 3 x barkskin
3 - zone of sweet air, invisibility purge, dispel magic, cure medium wounds, summon insects, 2 x glyph of warding
4 - 2 x poison, defensive harmony, cure serious wounds, call woodland beings, negative plane protection
5 - righteous magic, iron skins, insect plague
6 - harm, wondrous recall
It's a fair mix of defensive, offensive, buffing and other spells, but the righteous magic, and glyph of warding help in making the selection better. As for the others, well, all I can say is if you're stuck reloading a few times, you may think that extra +1 can make a difference.
Either way, soloing druids is definately possible. (A back-on-topic segue)
[QUOTE=Arch_Angel]I hope I do stick with it, but similar to Crownhead I dislike having to send in others to do my fighting. So I think I'll go with the shapeshifter with the ease of use mod (thanks Mazeh!). So then I'll be at least partially useful when melee is required.[/QUOTE]
No Problems. Yet, you might wanna use a little high difficulty, as this wolf is going' to kick some butt-ass If you are very legit, you won't use the "cast spell as wolf" thingy with that mod. If you're not, just use a difficult difficulty, and use magic while wolfie. Looks cool with werewolf mages Especially if you have 6 of them in a party
All the Spirit animals have 100% resistance to Cold and Electricity.
Is there a chart of these online somewhere (besides right here)? This is really familiar but I can't remember where I saw it before. Originally I thought it was part of the GB BGII:SOA section, but I can't find it...
I googled for spirit snake poison baldur and found this a few times, but I would think it would be in the main baldur handbook (check your directory for a .pdf), but I'm not positive.
N..
