Favorite and Interesting Character Builds.

Thrifalas · Post by **Thrifalas** » Wed Sep 26, 2007 12:13 pm

If you really want to hit the low AC's, you get yourself the Big Metal Unit which is, even though it's an eastern egg, very legit and provides a, iirc, -10 base AC.

Crenshinibon · Post by **Crenshinibon** » Wed Sep 26, 2007 2:41 pm

Mmmm. Usable by absolutely everyone, even monks, however the spelcasting penalty does apply for all arcane casters.

Celacena · Post by **Celacena** » Mon Oct 08, 2007 4:00 am

played a bit more

I got UAI (now level 30 of last night) and didn't like the thief in metal - (elven) PC has got 20 dex (19 + machine +1 ) - the Toll took a point of wisdom (back to 17) instead of dex. didn't get the +1 on the deck of many things, but did get 1,000,000 points just for the PC - hence the level 30 BEFORE underdark or the end of WK

using:
black dragon scale armour
ring of gaxx
swapping between cloak of non-detection/reflection (spell damage)
ioun stone
swapping rings - danger sense/lock picks/earth elemental control
staff of the magi
amulet of power (only to prevent level drain)
boots of speed
paladin's bracers (for HP) swapping to gloves of pickpocketing, when needed (but as have 150% plus skill, it's a safety measure only)

then using staff of the ram (+4) or ?avagadrul? +4 or Daystar (if the bonuses apply e.g. undead)

I can now use the staff to turn invisible & get away to hide in shadows, then return for the big hits. with the assassination skill - I don't know how much that can get to, but it is x7 backstab multiplier and I have already obliterated a number of mid-level enemies. I can hardly wait for ToB proper, but I want to play the party through.

will the SotM and cloak of non-detection work against the big bosses in ToB?

As for the BMU - you can only get that if you started in BG1, surely? Pantaloons etc

Crenshinibon · Post by **Crenshinibon** » Mon Oct 08, 2007 10:31 am

Backstab should last you for a long time. You'll be able to kill the drow from Sendai's fortress in about one hit, most of the time.

That combination does work however, remember that demons CAN see through invisibility so the Ravagaer and the Slayer and any other demon can too. Also. Amelyssan can see through invisibility as well.

If you have UAI, I suggest you use Vhalior's Helm instead of an Ioun Stone. Also, I'd net the Gauntlets of Extraordinary Expertise from the Marilith on the fifth level of Watcher's Keep. Not only does it give an extra half attack per round but it also gives a much appreciated THAC0 bonus. There is no real need to switch between the cloaks as you have your eight hour Spell Trap to protect you.

Later on, if your character is male, I suggest romancing Jahiera for her Harper Pin and using Montolio's Cloak instead. If you have a priest and did the hell trial for the strength bonus and have the girdle of fire giant strength equipped, take his/her holy symbol for the strength bonus as it stacks with all other bonuses. At that point you will have 25 strength which gives you a nice damage bonus and a THAC0 bonus.

Celacena · Post by **Celacena** » Wed Oct 10, 2007 5:11 am

bonus merchant items

I can't recall which items come from the bonus merchants and which are in the 2nd stack at the adventurers mart - I haven't got the helm and nobody has vecna.

demons seeing invisible is a bit of a pain. good job I can run and set spike traps...

the girdle of FGS is rather late in the game for my liking and it is a pain to need to sacrifice so many items to get crom freyr.

there is a trick to getting multiple cleric symbols - remove them from the party without their symbol and when you recruit them, they get another.

Crenshinibon · Post by **Crenshinibon** » Wed Oct 10, 2007 5:51 am

Both items are from the bonus merchant at Advent
urer's Mart. They are for people that preordered the game but if you want, you can always download them.

Well, while demons CAN see through invisibility, they can still be backstabbed. Just get their attention first and get your thief behind them. By the time you finish SoA, you should be all good. With a thief as my main, I'd never get Crom Fayer, I'd rather use the girdle. Even without using one, assuming you started with 18 strength in BG, you'd have 22 strength by the end of SoA, 23 if you were using a priest's symbol. So it's still good. Don't forget that the strength bonus from hell and the symbol stack.

I know the trick but eh, they're usually good enough even without it. With all of their buff spells, they don't need any more strength bonuses.

Dummy · Post by **Dummy** » Fri Nov 30, 2007 9:31 pm

well you ask for the favorite hero build ?

i must say single warlock, its just cool to run around and make ur spell trigger magic missle blast :cool:

but this looks more how cheese are you able to get :mischief:

i would take think an kensai/mage slayer and thief double would be the strongest lategame combination

and another thing, dont forget u could boost ur dex even more if u use the soulstone u get from the lich at Amkethran

Crenshinibon · Post by **Crenshinibon** » Fri Nov 30, 2007 10:33 pm

A warlock isn't part of the BGII class menu.

Well it depends on what you mean by "strongest" as each character has their own strength or weakness.

Dummy · Post by **Dummy** » Sat Dec 01, 2007 8:41 am

well i dont know the english term of this class, since i use the german version

i mean the "mage" class who is allowed to select it spells

eg 5 3rd grade spells

fire ball, haste, slow, mefls Meteorites, net

hand he is able to spell one spell five times or every spell once and so on

i just thought i would called warlock though :/
i just checked, he is called sorcerer

VonDondu · Post by **VonDondu** » Sat Dec 01, 2007 9:12 am

Dummy, I understood what you meant when you used the word "warlock".

I respect you for joining an English-speaking message board. I wish I could speak German as well as you speak English.

By the way, the proper terminology is this:

A Sorcerer can "cast" a spell five times a day.

A Sorcerer can learn five "1st level" spells.

Just to be funny, I would also like to mention that "u" should be spelled "you".

Dummy · Post by **Dummy** » Sun Dec 02, 2007 3:45 pm

okay this was a simple flaw by writing this in the rush,

usually i know it is called casting a spell, silly me.

and if "you" read my post probably "u" would know i switched the writing by accident

anyway back to topic

Crenshinibon: i played bgII as a RPG and if u play it more and more, the actual story became more and more uninteresting, so i may started and tried to solo the game, but after i had done this maybe once, or twice, this was not interesting anymore too, so right now i am trieing to know every npc dialogue.

and therefor i tend to play a sorc, so i would need to say that this class is my favourite

and i guess there is already enough chatter about the most "imba" and unbeatable char

imo every high level thief is in favor simple because he is backstabbing for 8 times the normal damage ?

if you play a mage / thief at the pen and paper it would be the strongest i guess, because there is no such thing as " use every item " and u kind of need tensers transformation, but here you could try farious combinations, almost every combination with thief i think ^^

F/M/C/T · Post by **F/M/C/T** » Wed Jun 18, 2008 2:01 pm

Long time player 1st time poster.

Try this little beauty on for size:

Take your gnomish fighter/illusionist and cast:
Timestop>Improved Alacrity>BlackBlade>GWW>CritStrike

The improved alacrity works for High level abilities so enables you to get GWW and Crit Strik on at the same time.

With the black blade (better than any actual weapon), 10 attacks all of which are criticals..... sit back and watch the carnage.

Get your simulacrum to wish rest you (with a scroll) and do it again

Oh happy times watching my little Gnome causing totally unfair, sick and wrong damage.

But yes I would definitely say Multiclass is better than Kensai/Mage

Crenshinibon · Post by **Crenshinibon** » Thu Jun 19, 2008 10:30 am

In my opinion, the Black Blade of Disaster isn't even worth using. For a powerful melee presence, a Kensai/Mage shapeshifted into a Golem or a greater Wolfwere would do.

This method would also put projected images to use, as with a new form, they can actually attack. But that's beside the point. With an intimidating THAC0, and (during Improved Haste) eight attacks per round as well as 16 hitpoints per second regeneration, the Wolfwere form is nearly invincible. Also, Critical Strike is mostly good for hitting things you can't, as most creatures DO wear helmets which negate any critical hits.

Saros · Post by **Saros** » Fri Jun 20, 2008 12:42 am

The Black Blade of Disaster is the perfect weapon versus Ascension Mel, since she cannot protect herself from +6 weapons. In addition, you can backstab with BBoD, and cast spells(which, if you are shapeshifted, you cannot do). Besides, the BBoD you wield at grandmastery, which, if you have the tweak installed, means an extra attack per round (two if Impr. hasted). Moreover, the blade more often than not drains 4 levels from an opponent, or sometimes, some enemies can even fail their +4 save and be disintegrated by the blade.

This blade is of utmost importance to any kind of F/T, F/M/T, T(any kit) or C/T in the last Ascension fight. Don't forget that unlike any other +6 weapons, this allows your off-hand to be used properly, whether with another weapon or a nice shield.

16 HP regeneration rate per second is simply not enough when you play Ascension on Insane.

Crenshinibon · Post by **Crenshinibon** » Sat Jun 21, 2008 12:33 pm

As you know, I'm against modding the game, so from my experience, it's more than enough. Also, you can make the most damaging backstabs from the Iron Golem form.

When you're fighting in melee, chances are that you'll be using Tensor's Transformation anyway. Also, the magical weapon vanishes when dispelled, but Shapechange allows you to renew it by simply renewing the enchantment.

Black Blade of Disaster counts as a +5 weapon, unless there is some bug that makes it count as +6.

Blackrazor has effects that are similar to those of BBD, except with a few bonus features, minus the disintegration.

Sereth1728 · Post by **Sereth1728** » Tue Jul 01, 2008 5:37 pm

I've got a question actually. Creshinibon you mentioned before about how you played as an assassin/fighter. I have a question, how did that work for you? Im soloing the game right now as a bounty hunter but after that I might want to play the game as an assassin. I've heard some people say that the assassin is the hardest class to play for a thief, and for soloing the game. Would you say it's possible to get through most of shadows of amn, and maybe quite a bit of throne of bhaal or no. Also if you were to dual class an assassin to a fighter, what would be the best lvl to do it?

Sorry for the large amount of questions.

Crenshinibon · Post by **Crenshinibon** » Tue Jul 01, 2008 9:24 pm

It is possible to solo the entire game with any class, including the assassin. While out of all the thief kits, this one gets the least points (fifteen per level for a total of six hundred spendable points at level forty, unlike a normal thief's one thousand). Still, as an assassin you gain x2 to your backstab multiplier, for a maximum of x7 at level 21 and a very nice poison ability.

Skills: Six hundred points is more than enough for an assassin. If you chose this class, I assume you want to be a more combat oriented thief, thus relying on your backstab, so about three hundred, give or take, would go on Hide in Shadows and Move Silently. The other three hundred can go on whatever you want. Probably a hundred for traps and the other two hundred either on Pick Pockets (for money making) or Open Locks along with Find Traps or Detect Illusion. For a combat oriented character I would definately invest the last three hundred in traps, detect illusions (as it can rid you of those pesky mirror images, and misleads so you can make your backstab) and open locks for experience.

Backstab: This is your main attack. Note how you need to be right next to the enemy, behind them and unseen... not to mention hit them. As thieves have an awful THAC0 (aside from Swashbucklers), you'll be using a single weapon with a high bonus (Sword of the Mask +4 is great to start with). Not only is the +4 added to your THAC0 but it's multiplied too. Anyway, most of the time you'll be doing hit and run, possibly utilizing your Assassination and trap abilities for crowd control.

Posion: This ability is amazing. You can apply it to any weapon you can use, including ranged weapons. According to Chris Lee, at level fifteen the poison slows the target (needs a save to resist) and does 42 damage over 14 seconds (3 damage per second) assuming the opponent fails the save. If they succeed, the ability does 12 damage over 4 seconds (3 damage per second). Now, ignoring the fact that you can stack this, continue to reapply it, hit multiple targets, you can stop mages from casting and trigger the damage animation which makes it nearly impossible for your enemies to attack, much less move.

Dual Classing: Well, many people disagree with me in the way I choose to dualclass, late. For the assassin to fighter, I would either dual class at level 21 (when you reach x7 backstab multiplier, also leaving you 31 fighter levels) or at level 25 (which would put you at a level 26 fighter).

The first one leaves you with eleven high level abilities from the fighter pool while the second one leaves you with two high level abilities from the thief pool (presumably Use Any Item and Assassination) and six fighter abilities.

The latter build can use an Assassination/Whirlwind combination and have more points in theif skills. Also, you repertoire is enhanced through the Use Any Item ability. Of course you can just get that and dual class anyway.

In any case, any of those choices will leave you with a stronger melee presence, with Use Any Item opening a whole new way of fighting and equiping your characters. Anything from equipping class or NPC only items to enhancing yourself with spells as well as items you couldn't use before.

Another thing to consider is starting as a level 14 fighter (I'd choose Kensai) and dual classing to a Thief (leaving you 39 levels). This barely subtracts from the thief, but lets you hold your own in hand to hand combat, not to mention using Kai on backstabs and a nifty -2 AC bonus.

anarchistica · Post by **anarchistica** » Wed Jul 02, 2008 7:45 am

Level 14? Why not Level 13?

Oh, and using SK you can multi/dual-class kits so you could be a Fighter>Assassin or Fighter/Assassin. You only need a handful of GWWs + UAI + Assassination... the rest can go into traps.

Crenshinibon · Post by **Crenshinibon** » Wed Jul 02, 2008 11:13 am

Because fourteen is the highest you can go by losing only a single level. I'm generally against cheating, and the traps, whether or not the player decides to use them, is their own business. I personally don't use Spike Traps at all, because they are way too overpowered.

Revi · Post by **Revi** » Fri Nov 28, 2008 9:39 am

I've played most of the popular multi and dualclass builds, but decided to respond to this topic in an original fashion.

I think the most fun I've ever had was with a single-classed berserker, in a party of five. I have no reason or explanation for never dualling this character, other than that I started her as a half-elf (god knows why really) and the berserker class just 'felt right' for her.

What an awesome kit this is! You can go up to grand-mastery in any melee weapon, and wear every kind of armor, but at the same time you still have the most essential part of the barbarian kit, the rage, which avoids all those annoying confusion, charm and sleep spells. And I just love that look on a caster's face when he realizes I am immune to his silly spells and am about to chop his head off with a giant halberd! :laugh:

Whirlwinding with a Ravager +6 through masses of enemies, what a rush.

EDIT:

The improved alacrity works for High level abilities so enables you to get GWW and Crit Strik on at the same time.

Thanks, F/M/C/T, I didn't know that trick yet. It's slightly cheesy, so I might never use it, but I like knowing about it... I'm writing an article about everything that influences attacks per round and the pros and cons of whirlwind versus critical strike at the moment, so this needs to be included