Thief: dual class to fighter?

Loopus · Post by **Loopus** » Fri Jun 29, 2007 8:49 am

Hello

i just started playing again and my main character is an human thief, lvl 6. i wondered if i should/could dual class him to fighter/thief?
is it worth it?

Loopus

GawainBS · Post by **GawainBS** » Fri Jun 29, 2007 8:55 am

Depends on wether or not you're going to take him into BGII. If so, try to get on a few more thief levels.
If you're the only thief in the party, I'd advice against it, since you'll have to do a long time without traps detecting, disarming and lockpicking.
Also, I'd suggest making him an archer. With being restricted to light armour, you'll get hit a lot in melee. Take one of those longbows or composite longbows, and you'll be pretty deadly.

Klorox · Post by **Klorox** » Fri Jun 29, 2007 9:16 am

Power-wise, you would have been better off starting as a Fighter, and then switching to Thief.

That being said, the only way this is even possible is if your human thief has a 15 (or higher) DEX and a 17 (or higher) STR.

Loopus · Post by **Loopus** » Fri Jun 29, 2007 9:24 am

my stats

Str 18
Dex 18
Con 18
Int 16
Wis 10
Cha 11

but i think i'll stick with single class

Curry · Post by **Curry** » Fri Jun 29, 2007 3:09 pm

Boost your INT and dual to a mage!

Loopus · Post by **Loopus** » Fri Jun 29, 2007 4:06 pm

i have already dualed Imoen

VonDondu · Post by **VonDondu** » Sat Jun 30, 2007 8:46 pm

Fighters are great for routine killing--for example, when it comes to killing hundreds of kobolds and xvarts. But for special situations, it's nice to have a high level Thief. When your Thief reaches 9th level, your character will have a 4x backstab multiplier, and you can backstab all of the monsters to death. Backstabbing is actually one of the best ways to kill the toughest monsters in the game, especially the ones who can eat your melee warriors alive in straight-up combat. Potions of invisibility will let you backstab repeatedly without having to run and hide and come back, and there are many different potions that will increase your chance to hit and your damage output.

Crenshinibon · Post by **Crenshinibon** » Sat Jun 30, 2007 10:31 pm

That is true, but if you have patience then you can easily do all that with the boots of speed as I did. I saved the potions for occasions where I couldn't escape the enemy's gaze. Even single thieves are powerful, given that you work to increase their THAC0.

GawainBS · Post by **GawainBS** » Sun Jul 01, 2007 3:19 am

I'd never understood why everyone is so extatic about Backstabbing... It never worked for me. Either I got detected (with 120% Stealth), the thief missed, etc... (Even with thieves with a pretty good THAC0.)
I'd say: go for archer. For some reason, ranged attacks are a lot more effective and tend to hit more in BG...

Crenshinibon · Post by **Crenshinibon** » Sun Jul 01, 2007 9:03 am

I know this sounds rather stupid, but did you actually attack them from the back? If you hide in shadows and stab them from the front, nothing will happen. I soloed the entire game with a thief, relying purely on backstabbing and it was a great experience.

How much did you have in move silently?

GawainBS · Post by **GawainBS** » Sun Jul 01, 2007 9:09 am

It was in BG1, there's only one skill for sneaking, IIRC. Yes, I did stab them from behind.

Crenshinibon · Post by **Crenshinibon** » Sun Jul 01, 2007 7:59 pm

My bad.

Still though, I can't say I was actually detected. Sure, maybe when I missed my backstab, but otherwise no. Shadows give you bonuses to your hide in shadows skill so you should take advantage of that if you haven't already. I soloed the entire game along with the expansion with the thief (bringing her into BGII as well) and it worked out great. In places where the backstab didn't work, there were other means as the thief is a very flexible character.

VonDondu · Post by **VonDondu** » Sun Jul 01, 2007 10:37 pm

GawainBS wrote:For some reason, ranged attacks are a lot more effective and tend to hit more in BG...

Dexterity bonuses, proficiency bonuses, and extra attacks per round (with bows) probably have a lot to do with it. Even a +1 THAC0 bonus makes a noticeable difference in BG1.

There's also the fact that the monsters can't hit you if you kill them before they reach you. Melee rounds seem to pass by a lot faster when you're relaxed because you're not taking damage and you're not panicking.

When your melee warrior is getting hit five times per round with a +5 sword, every round seems longer than normal.

The game is a lot easier if you equip all of your party members with ranged weapons, no doubt about it. I admit that I used to play that way a lot because I didn't want my characters to get killed. But there are other alternatives that are just as effective and just as much fun. To take two prime examples, a wall of summoned monsters (I'm sure many of you know what I'm talking about) or a couple of devastating backstabs can be very comforting in those high pressure situations.

wise grimwald · Post by **wise grimwald** » Mon Jul 02, 2007 2:50 am

GawainBS wrote:It was in BG1, there's only one skill for sneaking, IIRC. Yes, I did stab them from behind.

I never had any problem backstabbing. However if you miss your backstab, you must go and hide again before continuing. I found it highly effective particularly against Saverok. You've got all those lovely pillars to hide behind. One decent thief is all you need. I beat him easily with Imoen and when I used my unarmed fighter/thief, it still wasn't that difficult. The Ducal Palace is much harder IMO as those dukes seem to have no tactical nouse.