Advice for next playthrough please

Jedi_Sauraus · Post by **Jedi_Sauraus** » Wed Aug 23, 2006 7:00 am

I've passed Baldur's gate with ToB many times using melee classes. I want to try something diffrent this time around, and I'm not sure what class to select.
Options for me include Bounty hunter, Archer, or Sorceror. Perhaps even a Bard, but from what I've heard, a bard is a watered down fighter/mage.

Party:

PC

Aire: not changing, I absolutly hate Jaheira and Viconia's romance refused to start up in ToB so she's out too.

Imoen: not changing, a mage can always carry her weight in the party and most of the game is centered on rescueing her.

not sure what the rest of my party will be. will Aire be enough as a cleric later on ?? or do I need Anomen as well ?? if I do need him whats the best way to develop him?? I'll probably take Keldorn and Korgan as both are supreme Tanks though they are not set in stone tht leaves 1 slot completely free

thx

look forward to discussion

Coot · Post by **Coot** » Wed Aug 23, 2006 7:33 am

A Bounty hunter's main thing is setting traps, which means the more powerful those traps get (and boy, they do!) the cheesier the game will be. I don't know if you'll like that. I've had good times with an Assassin though(hint).

I had some fun with my Archer. He has nice abilities and limitations. There are a lot of different ranged weapons in the game and tons of different ammo. And there are also the usual ranger skills: some druid spells, sneaking.
Still, I had more fun the ever versatile Stalker.

A Sorcerer is arguably the most powerful class in the game, provided you know about spells.
The biggest drawback is that if you choose a spell and regret it later on, you'll keep regretting it. If you're interested in playing a Mage type, I'd advise the Wild Mage. Nearly as powerful as a Sorcerer, twice as much fun.

Bards have a little skill in a lot of things. That's their limitation but also their strength. A Blade can be a force to be reckoned with if you choose the right equipment and spells. Think of all those protective spells he can cast: 'Protection against fill-in-the-blank', 'Stoneskin', 'Mirror Image', 'Blur'. The vaunted Kensai can only dream of such defenses.
Silly mage spells like 'Chill touch' or 'Ghoul touch' can actually become useful in the hands of a Blade or Skald.
Bards can use almost all weapons. And if they're hurt bad they can retreat but still be useful by singing.

Jedi_Sauraus · Post by **Jedi_Sauraus** » Wed Aug 23, 2006 9:21 am

Would'nt it be better to go with a plain vanilla thief in that case?? Assasin is one class I wanted to steer clear of, because the bonuses +1 thaco/dmg, and the poisoning ability does'nt look good on paper compared to losing 10% points/ level. It seems as a thief I'll be tempted by cheese anyway once I get high level ability traps

but the problem is I've got no practical expierience with thieves usually my only thief after spellhold is Imoen and that does'nt really count.

Question on Aiere: Is she capable of being the only cleric in the team?? there are a few level 7 buffs I enjoy/need. Last time around my cleric was viconia but, in ToB, she seemed redundant. when it was time to rest after a day of fighting she still had 1/3rd of her spells memorized.

CFM · Post by **CFM** » Wed Aug 23, 2006 2:40 pm

Based on what you said this is your base party:

Keldorn
Korgan
Aerie
Yoshimo/Imoen

If you like Bounty Hunters but don't roll one, you got Yoshimo.

If you like Archers but don't roll one, you got Mazzy. She also has interesting banters with Korgan.

If you like Bards but don't roll one, you got Haer'Dalis. He also has interesting banters with Aerie.

If you feel you ain't got enough Cleric, take Anomen. He also has interesting banters with Keldorn.

I'd say roll up a Sorcerer, and rotate the last spot with Mazzy, Haer'Dalis, and Anomen, giving you party different "looks", and keep who you like best when each's banters play out. And you could use that last spot for other NPCs that have specific quests, such as Valygar & the Planar Sphere, and Nalia & her Keep.

aldazir · Post by **aldazir** » Wed Aug 23, 2006 5:18 pm

Assuming you're a Sorcerer.......

Pretty sure Ive said this before, but if you're going to run with Aerie, pick her up at the start and stick with her (dont swap her around). She needs a fair bit of XP before she really comes into her own, but with the right equipment she can be pretty awesome. She can also memorise spells from both her book and scrolls which gives her quite a variety to choose from. Buying her a scroll case also comes in handy. As far as other NPCs go.........When your not travelling with Imoen, would you consider Jan? He has some interesting gadgets, amusing banter, is a reasonably accomplished thief and also adds to the parties magical abilities. For a little exta tank, would you consider Valygar. In my first game he annoyed the hell out of me asking infernal questions about good and evil which I was already wrestling with in my own mind, so I dumped him pretty quick. In a later game, I gave him a second chance. I equiped him with Celetial Fury and he came in real handy....I later gave him Crom Feayr as well and the bag of holding, which made him like a combined fighter/packhorse for the group

Jedi_Sauraus · Post by **Jedi_Sauraus** » Thu Aug 24, 2006 4:23 am

Minor spoilers ahead......... be warned

Jan

I love that guy as well!.... but He's like another Aire a multiclass which will get level 9 spells only by middle of ToB brilliant character though. My probable setup will be: archer/assasin Korgan and Keldorn for tanking power Imoen and aire as mages so now it's a toss up between Nalia and Jan (another good mage). If I take a ranger it will definitly be Minsc. I can't decide wether to get another mage or make the party a bit more melee intensive. If I take the Mage I'm leaning towards Nalia since she is alot better than Imoen, higher level more spells ect..

The problem really is that the Flail of ages would go to waste if I don't take Minsc, and Korgan does'nt have enough proficiency pointy to become grand master of Hammers and Flails and two weapon fighting. Keldorn will of course use Carsomyr

oh and either way Aire will be picked up ASAP and not swapped....... love intrest otherwise I would not take her. good personality but awfull combat ability in SoA

Mower · Post by **Mower** » Mon Aug 28, 2006 12:45 pm

Hmm, it's curious that "love interest" factors into the equation of party building.

No, er hem, woman (or man if you be a woman...there, I'm covered!) is going ot dictate my decisions there. War now. Love later.

Raven_Song · Post by **Raven_Song** » Tue Aug 29, 2006 2:56 am

Spoiler

If you plan on taking both Korgan and Aerie you will need to playing with the happy patch from the Ease of Use mod, otherwise you will be forced to choose between them.[end spoioler]

Crenshinibon · Post by **Crenshinibon** » Tue Aug 29, 2006 6:31 am

I strongly recomend playing a Blade.

They are the most versatile class in the game and that, as Coot said, makes them strong.

What I like to call their "Dream Weapons", two of them, are found fairly early in the game. However, if you solo the game with a bard, you will get all the experience, which makes things all the better. Once you reach Throne of Bhaal, or maybe even before that, if you access the epic skills, you're all set.

Your ability to pickpocket, even at level seven, will let you reap a large reward from certain shop owners, not to mention a hefty amount of spells to use and thus a great amount of experience.

Provided you get another item, a Blade can be the ultimate tank.

(The item is also, located at the start)

There are certain combinations which can make you immune to ALL damage while still letting you use the benefits of your Offensive Spin.

I could go on and on, but I think I'd spoil the Bard Gaming Experience.

I tried to be as vague as I could.

Also, do not underestimate Assassins. I would never recomend playing one to the core, but a human Assassin dual classed to a fighter or a mage, especially a mage, can be quite devestating to your opponents.

Jedi_Sauraus · Post by **Jedi_Sauraus** » Tue Aug 29, 2006 6:50 am

I have started playing as an Archer....... but a nasty virus modified all my files on both hardrives so that they contain 0.00kb

I have to start over my saves also went to hell because of this. this when I was almost ready to set sail to Brynnlaw.

anyway I will probably start a blade now just for the hell of it

btw Cremshinibon couple of questions for you:

1) which 2 items are you refering to ?? I have no idea how to best equip a Bard but I try to avoid cheese. I'm assuming 1 of those items is Vhalors Helm or whatever it's called. The one that gives similarcum/day ability (I never get this item, for a Bard this would be ultimate cheese 1 singing the other attacking)

2) at which level would you dual from assasin to mage?? would that even be worth it?? I mean once you get chain contingency + 3x horrid wilting
backstabbing becomes kind of redundant.

3) what's so special about the assasin kit?? +1 to thaco and dmg and a weak poison attack according to the kit description. does the poison get better as you level ?? I'd be leaning towards a vanillla thief for more skills or bounty hunter for the traps

thx in advance

Crenshinibon · Post by **Crenshinibon** » Tue Aug 29, 2006 9:09 pm

Haha! I win! He's starting a Blade.

And people say that bards are bad. >.>

Anyway:

1.) Vhailor's Helm you won't be able to use until level 24, as you can only use Ioun Stones and no helms. The two weapons you'd want are Belm +2 (gives a bonus attack) and Dakkon's Zerth Blade (for the spell slots as at early levels yoy don't have many spells per day... but you need them), however the swords that you could replace it with later on is Scarlet Ninja-To +3, which would give you a total of two additional attacks per round. Mixing it with Offensive Spin, Haste or Improved Haste once you get it could be deadly. This also depends on what type of character you want, or how you like to kill your victims. Offensive Spin adds an attack, let's you move as if you're hastened and does maximum damage. Imrpoved Haste however doubles the number of attacks as well as your movement rate. With a Blade weapons that drain ability scores, health or magic resistance are quite potent. The Answerer +4 for example is a perfect draining weapon to use, as it reduces an oponnents magic resistance by 15% AND gives them a -2AC penalty. Attacking with that weapon 10 times per round (assuming you hit all ten times) would cause an apponent to lose a noteworthy amount of magic resistance and armor.

2.) I would Dual Class an Assassin to a mage either when he/she gets Use Any Item (which is at level 24) or when the backstab multiplier reaches 7. The Assassain's poison ability is a perfect tool against any type of caster (even the ones in Throne of Bhaal) as with the one damage per second their casting becomes impossible. I suggest this for a full playthrough because don't forget that at the end of ToB, your spell supply will run out pretty quickly. There are also several tricks with the mage that can make the assassin backstab as much as ten times per round for a duration that only depends on your level. A normal thief wouldn't have a good THAC0 but the Assassin/Mage has Tenser's Transformation on his side, not to mention a bunch of buffing and protective spells.

The only true bonus that a full Thief has over an Assassin/Mage is the experience income from traps and locks, but in the long run, an Assassin/Mage is a better fighter oponnent. The Assassin/Thief would still have a good aount of spell slots availible, so the only thing that a mage would have over him is the amount of spells that he/she can cast per day. I admit, the traps are deadly, especially the spike trap, however, you can only set them when you are not in combat, and thus when you see an enemy or when they're attacking you, the trap can't be set. There are only so many battles where they'd be useful. You're probably going to get them in ToB (unless you solo) and from the major battles, I think that they'd be useful against all dragons but Abazigal (although the dragon's aren't really a challenge). They'd help in all of the hell battles and that's about it.

Jedi_Sauraus · Post by **Jedi_Sauraus** » Wed Aug 30, 2006 6:07 am

yep I'm starting a blade already in the circus

getting Aire, my next run through will probably be a solo assasin mage though. It seems cool from a role playing perspective but the only drawback is that it has to be solo, with a 6 man team it would take forever (well into ToB) to regain my assasinating abilities. (assuming level 24 assasin ---> mage)

btw I knew all about belm, but the other blade that you get from Deidra.. I wrote it off because a mage could'nt use it. It became useless in my mind because none of my team could use it but now

silly me

Crenshinibon · Post by **Crenshinibon** » Wed Aug 30, 2006 12:25 pm

The Scarlet Ninja-To +3 is bought from Joluv, in the Slums district. In general, I'd use that over Dakkon's Zerth Blade, once you can afford it or once you find that you don't need the extra slots.

The good thing about dualclassing to a mage is that your scrolls will provide great experience for you.

You don't have to dual class at 24.

The items that you'll use will probably be availible to you through the mage and assassin classes.

I would probably dual class as soon as my backstab multiplier reaches 7.

The only reason that I'd wait is to improve my THAC0 by a bit.

WARLORD HECTOR · Post by **WARLORD HECTOR** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 5:21 am

I had most fun with following party.

Main Character Thief (can be multi or dual Classed with fighter)

Minsc
Keldorn
Jahira
Viconia
Edwin

In TOB Jahira could be changed with another Character mainly mage types.

Have to characters is Edwin if you are not a spell wielder, and Viconia. Both has good main attributes. Keldorn is always usefull, since he can cast much true sight spells and dispels, and can not be holded. I can imagine a party without Minsc, he's very funny and a powerfull ally, but he can go berserk and slay his companions at a very hard battle wich means your death...

I don't like any of the thief characters in game, silly that.

Most times you need a good thief due the traps and lockpicking. Most good item hiding locks are can not broken by even 18/00 str. wich sucks...

Play the plain Thief and Assasin, also spell wielder characters. May be Fighter classes, but choosing the main character as a Paladin, cleric or barbarian shouldn't be chosen...

Chippox of Doom · Post by **Chippox of Doom** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 11:51 am

Raven Song: Are you sure about that?

Cause in my current game i have them both in party, and ive played all the way too elves camp, and done watchers keep etc, This creeps me up if im going to loose one soon, Couse im having a blast with my current party.

Jedi_Sauraus · Post by **Jedi_Sauraus** » Sat Sep 02, 2006 10:53 am

I can tell you from an expierienence of 5+ run throughs where I had both Aerie and Korgan in the party that they are compatible. I've NEVER had a "bad" dialog happen between them, and even if you get one, which is theoreticly possible just reload when the first one of the bad series happens.
the dialogs are all real time triggered approximitly every 40-60 minutes so it's no big deal. I've done the reloading method to keep both viconia and Keldorn in the party (boy those 2 hate each other

) and it worked out just fine. I save every 3-5 minutes between that and autosaves I lose about 2 minutes of progress every time a bad dialog happens. hope this helps

Blades can be so much fun

gonna try an assasin next

Coot · Post by **Coot** » Sat Sep 02, 2006 12:38 pm

It's indeed possible to keep to npc's that don't get along in the same party happily ever after. Keep your reputation neutral - meaning not too high and not too low, that seems to help. I'm deliberately saying 'seems' because I don't think it's ever really been proven.

Jedi_Sauraus · Post by **Jedi_Sauraus** » Sat Sep 02, 2006 1:32 pm

I usually keep mine as high as possible for the % reduction of prices in stores. Also I enjoy being a Hero vanquishing dragons,trolls, and saving entire towns. however at some point in my journey I always have to kill an annoying noble or something so my reputation does'nt go to 19. I'll have to look into happy mod, I always take Korgan because I like his character and also because he is one of the most powerful if not most powerful tank in the game. might try mazzy in the future but she does'nt have berserk, and since trying the Blade I probably won't go back to melee tankers. they are usefull but boring. after I'm done with the blade it's either an elven assasin or a cleric ranger for the druidic tank expierience

Armycardinal · Post by **Armycardinal** » Sun Sep 03, 2006 3:45 pm

Aerie vs Korgan

SPOILERS

My two cents on Aerie and Korgan
@ Coot and Chippox
Yes. They hate each other, almost as much as Keldorn and Viconia.

Korgan gets on Aerie for being a whiny, skinny elf. (All true, but that's another story.) After putting up with this for a while, she gives you an ultamatum, "It's him or me." She means it and she takes off after 24 hrs of game time - with all of the stuff you equiped her with.

I personally like Aerie over Korgan, so I usually dump him early and right after I help him with his personal quest. There are other tanks around that can do what he does.

Aerie just ROCKS at higher levels - IMHO. Get her the Robe of Vecna and she is quick at casting as well. I usually give her Crom Faer as well, if she gets in a jam. Also try using a Minor Spell Sequencer with 2 Doom spells attached. Bad guys can't make any saves - and she can just whup some... well, you know...

Also, my daughter just about insists that I take Aerie every time. 'She looks pretty, Daddy.' How can you resist that???

OK - my rant is over - back to the original purpose of this thread. Pick a Blade - but I would take Celestial Fury as a dual-wield. Hard to resist, stunning someone and then hack-n-slash 'em up after.

AC

WARLORD HECTOR · Post by **WARLORD HECTOR** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 6:53 am

Yes the key is your Reputation. If you rise it too high group members tend more to their evil or good spirits and causes more trouble between each other. While some actions can cause serious trouble, some conversations can it too...

Reload as a friend told and try to do something different. Try to be the leader and dont let them cry to each other, take the control in your hand. You will then have no problems within the group.