soloing frustrations (and class questions)

[Levendis]

I haven't played this game in a couple of years, and forgot a lot, so I'm trying to avoid spoilers up to and including Spellhold. I do remember some stuff, but I'd like to rediscover the rest. It's kind of a long post, but I'd appreciate input from others.

So, I've started the game as my semi-solo CN gnome cleric/wild mage (yes, I used SK). I say semi-solo because I wanted to get everyone out of the dungeon. Sure, this probably isn't characteristic of a CN PC, but my own conscience wouldn't let me abandon them flat out. Also, I'm going to run through some of Jah's quests before ditching her, and then the same for Yoshi.

I've been thinking about this solo plan and doing some math, and am starting to question it (or at least my choice of character). First, the actual benefit of a faster level progression is significantly muted with a solo multi-classed character. Let's say that I had 6mil XP to divvy up. With a party of six (where I would play a single-classed PC), that's 1mil each. With a party of two, it's 3mil apiece (and 1.5mil for each class for a multi-classed character). And with a party of one, that's 6mil split between two classes so 3mil for each class. So, in a party of six, my mage is level 12. In a party of two, my mage/cleric is level 14/14, and my solo mage/cleric is 18/21. Of course, once you hit the 8mil point, that's when larger parties start to catch up, but I digress.

It's obviously not worth it for the small parties, so it's either totally solo, or a full party. I have read this elsewhere, so I'm not too surprised. However, faster progression isn't the only reason why I want to solo. The main reason for it is that party management detracts from the fun of the game for me. I guess I'm just not a team player. With six people you have six people's problems to worry about, and it gets a little chaotic. Minsc gets dire charmed and starts attacking Jan. Yoshimo is fending off a vampire all by himself. Jah would help out but she's been held. And Vic just can't buff five people fast enough.

With one character, you only have one person to worry about. I realize the shortcoming of this is that your enemies have only one person to worry about as well, but one person can be pretty efficient. Think Zatoichi, Miyamoto Musashi, or Dirty Harry. Still, I'm finding that I'm already missing out on the party banter. Also, this somewhat limits me in terms of NPC quests. Granted, I can do most of them without the NPCs in the party, but it's not the same.

To be honest, I think a good solution would be if there was some kind of mod where every NPC you meet becomes a voice in the PCs head. One can still have the random banter, and have the "voices" send you on quests and what not. It would be like Sybil meets Fight Club. How cool would that be?

If I'm going to solo, I want to do a multi-classed character, just because it gives you more to play with. I'm not really interested in fighters, and would want to get to at least level 20 in my classes, so that limits me to two classes which would be a C/M, M/T, or C/T.

I'll start with the mage. Mages are pretty fun and offer a lot of variety. With fighters, you're always just swinging a weapon or shooting an arrow/bolt. With mages, you've got the lightning bolts, fireballs, time stops, magic missiles, etc. This variety is one of the reasons why I like the wild mage. I usually play one and all my 1st level slots are always NRD. Even if I just want a magic missile, I'd rather cast it through an NRD. Any class I'd solo would most likely have wild mage for one of the classes.

I've never really used a cleric much, other than for healing. The buffs are nice, but with a party of six they get spread a little to thinly (and some don't last all that long). With a solo character, I could take more advantage of that. Also, with faster level progression, I'm looking forward to being able to explode vampires (and other undead for that matter). Used with another class (particularly a mage), there's a lot of interesting potential for fun. The thought of a Time Stop where I unload both spellbooks...

Thieves are pretty handy to have around, too. The skills are nice, and with a solo character, they would develop faster. What I really like about the thief is the backstab. One of the most satisfying parts of combat, for me, is when Yoshi lands a particularly solid backstab at the beginning of combat. Granted, there's plenty of creatures that are immune to backstab, but it's still pretty handy. I think an Assassin/Wild Mage would make a great solo, though that's not possible (even with SK).

So, this leaves me tossed between my current cleric/wild mage and a wild mage/thief. The extra spellcasting power of the cleric is nice, but I'm not seeing myself using a lot of the spells, and I think I might be mostly keeping the class for the undead turning and the few clerical spells that I use a lot (who knew that sanctuary could be so useful?). On the other hand, I'm not sure if it's worth sacrificing all that for backstabs, traps, and other cool thiefy things.

Any thoughts?

(and thanks for reading this far. )

[VonDondu]

Please don't take this the wrong way, but you seem to be falling into the trap that most people tend to fall into: no matter what you're doing, you feel like you could be doing even better, so you end up being unhappy.

My advice is to choose a course for yourself, stick with it, and be happy about it. You won't get settled into the game and enjoy yourself until you decide that you're going to make the most of what you have. If you firmly decide "this is it", then you'll be amazed by what you can accomplish.

If you want to play solo for most if not all of the game, then do it. If you want to take a few NPCs along with you for part of the way, then do it. Go for it, and don't look back. If you run into a difficult challenge, don't think about giving up; try to find a way through it.

A Cleric/Wild Mage sounds like a great character to me. I'm not sure about your math when it comes to levelling up, but I don't see what difference it makes if that's the character you want to play. It's just as pointless to worry about questions like, "Am I sure I'm wielding the best weapons available? Oh no, what am I going to do if there's something better?" Just be happy with what you have.

If you do that, I think you'll enjoy the game.

Considering your desires, maybe you should play a two-man party that you can create without reloading: go pick up Jan. Then you'll have a CN Cleric/Wild Mage and a CN Illusionist/Thief. I smile when I think of the havoc you can wreak.

When it comes to combat tactics, a solo spellcaster has the advantage of being able to cast spells that are not party-friendly. It's liberating to be able to cast any spell you want without having to worry about who it will hit. If you have two spellcasters, you'll have to be more careful, but it's somewhat easier than dealing with a melee fighter in your own party.

On the other hand, you should consider using summoning spells to create meat shields, melee warriors, and cannon fodder. At lower levels, it's difficult for a Mage to inflict damage fast enough to destroy a large enemy party, so you can use the extra help. You can use a Wand of Monster Summoning all you want (five ogres should not be underestimated, especially if you can replace them every time one falls). When you reach 15th level, Skeleton Warriors are great, and later you can use Mordenkainen's Sword and Summon Deva/Planetar. At higher levels, evil Clerics can control undead creatures instead of destroying them, and that can be very interesting. When you get to the illithid lair in the Underdark, you can grab a couple of extra mind control collars that you can use at any future point in the game. (For example, I'm not sure if this will work, but imagine turning a Hive Mother against her own lair.)

When you can cast Project Image, you can quadruple your fun. You might want to experiment with a combination of Simulacrum/Righteous Magic/Tenser's Transformation and Energy Blades/Assassination and things like that. I know that I would at least give them a try.

[Levendis]

I hear what you're saying. Basically, when it comes to NPCs, I want their personality but not their physical presence. I'm not too worried about gear, treasure, and power levels. I was soloing the C/M through BG1 before this. However, NPC interaction is pretty much not a factor in BG1. It's a much larger part of BG2. Also, I'm really not too worried about the leveling, I'm sure I'll cap out anyway with a reduced party. It was a minor point and I probably spent too much time talking about it.

When it comes to class, I want to to backstab, explode undead, and have crazy spellcasting skills. I basically have to choose two of those and I'm not sure which (though I'm not really leaning towards a cleric/thief). I think with an M/T, the experience would be much more finesse-oriented, though I'd probably have a hard time connecting a backstab with a M/T's THAC0. With the C/M, it would be all kinds of crazy spellcasting, but there's less finesse involved. I'm just having trouble deciding between the two.

[rbeverjr]

I've never done this but Zyraen has a party AI script for people who solo. Check it out here: Pocket Plane Group - Bending Baldur's Gate 2 and the Infinity Engine

If you try it and like it, let us know!

For gaining XP, the most efficient way (in terms of gaining all possible XP) is with a full group. This is because the most XP rewarding instances are quest rewards, which are often on an XP/character basis.

The easiest games I have had in SoA are with 2-4 players. (I hate soloing because I like party interaction and to explore the benefits of different class mixes and equipment mixes.) There are 2 reasons for this: the game makes the foes easier when you include a few characters as opposed to 5 or 6; and XP for killed monsters will advance your levels more quickly. You can curb some of this softballing by installing Tactics Toughest Random Dungeon Spawn and Zyraen's XP caps (normal) without Restorer.

The cleric-mage multiclass is the most powerful class you listed. I personally think that a sorcerer or wildmage is more powerful than the cleric-mage. What class or classes that you would have the most fun with is up to you.

[Aspara_Gus]

Listen to Vondondudu

Dude,

Just pick the class that looks like a lot of fun and start playing. Don't do the math beforehand because BG II was never meant to be a math contest. This game is the stuff of heroes and legends and stuff like that. Right, boo?

So long as you are into your character, the game will be fun.

[BlueSky]

Yes listen to VonDondu:
I got so caught up in a game, worried about weapons, am I doing the right thing, and those old thoughts of, I can do better, that I lost the enjoyment of playing the game...mind set has a lot to do with the feeling you get from playing. and like Aspara_Gus says as long as you are into your character the game will be fun.

[XearoDisaster]

Dude,

Just pick the class that looks like a lot of fun and start playing. Don't do the math beforehand because BG II was never meant to be a math contest. This game is the stuff of heroes and legends and stuff like that. Right, boo?

So long as you are into your character, the game will be fun.

Thats the stuff
Well said.