GameBanshee Forums

I know NPCs have a few different starting levels and they are determined by protagonist level. However if the protagonist is dual/multi class how does it work? I'm asking since I'm planning on having a dual class character and I want him to solo as long as possible, but I also want to pick up some NPCs at low levels.

Sorry if someone already posted this... I vaguely remember reading about it but I can't find it now.

Character level isn't the same as class level, it's the total amount of levels you have. The npc levels are only determined by your character level.

Tricky wrote:Character level isn't the same as class level, it's the total amount of levels you have. The npc levels are only determined by your character level.

So level 7 fighter -> level 1 mage = level 8 fighter in character level? That's kind of silly.

I tested a fighter 7/mage 7 dual class and fighter 7/mage 8 with Anomen. In both cases he was at his lowest level version. So it must be one or the other, I assume the higher/active one.
A good test (using Anomen) would be figher>9 /mage<9 to see if it uses the inactive class.

It depends on your amount of XP. The NPCs have 5 different starting 'creatures' at XPs of 161k, 400k, 800k, 1.2M and 2.5M.

Curry wrote:It depends on your amount of XP. The NPCs have 5 different starting 'creatures' at XPs of 161k, 400k, 800k, 1.2M and 2.5M.

Thanks! That makes a lot more sense and will definitely be useful.
I was looking at this page:

Sorcerer's Place - Baldur's Gate 2 NPC Weapon Proficiencies

It implies that it was based on level, but I guess the person who wrote it used the levels of the character he had.

Curry wrote:It depends on your amount of XP. The NPCs have 5 different starting 'creatures' at XPs of 161k, 400k, 800k, 1.2M and 2.5M.

Old thread, but are you sure about this?

I have a multiclass fighter/thief who has accumulated 1.6 million experience, and all NPC's that join the party do so with 400k experience. I'm more inclined to think it's related to level.

haecceitas wrote:Old thread, but are you sure about this?

I have a multiclass fighter/thief who has accumulated 1.6 million experience, and all NPC's that join the party do so with 400k experience. I'm more inclined to think it's related to level.

Just get [url="http://infexp.sourceforge.net/"]Infinity Explorer[/url] and see for yourself

Actually it's based on your level.
I remember clearly that all the NPCs joined my bard at a significantly higher level than when they joined my sorcerer, even though they had about the same amount of XP when I picked them up.
I'm talking about Aerie, Anomen and all the others you can get right away when you exit Chateau Irenicus, of course.

Curry wrote:Just get [url="http://infexp.sourceforge.net/"]Infinity Explorer[/url] and see for yourself

IMHO, the existence of 5 NPC versions with a set amount of experience doesn't necessarily mean that they are chosen to match the players "experience tier".

My 1.6M character for one, contradicts this. But:

1. Maybe NPC experience is set as soon as their area is entered for the first time. So visiting the Government District at low levels will give a low-level Viconia and Jan even if the player have them join the party much later
2. Maybe it's indeed experience-based but the game chooses NPC's from a lower experience tier than the protagonist
3. Level determination could be based on chapter
4. It could be due to a bug with how the game chooses an NPC based on multiclass protagonists

Just throwing this out there:

Could it be based on the average XP of the party when the NPC is first recruited?

galraen wrote:Just throwing this out there:

Could it be based on the average XP of the party when the NPC is first recruited?

I thought this was a good point so I tried it. But no, with only my 1.6M PC, I still get 400k versions of the NPC's.

The level is determined when the NPC is spawned (Aka : When you first enter the area)

The level can only be from one of the SOA Pre-set character levels, not the ToB one.

Additionally, there may be some other requirements. For example : Highest party levels only showing after you finish Underdark..

Thanks, that makes sense.

No use soloing the first chapters in SoA to get a higher level party then.

haecceitas wrote:Thanks, that makes sense.

No use soloing the first chapters in SoA to get a higher level party then.

It will make a difference to the level the characters are if you avoid the areas the NPCs are in. For instance you don't have to go to the Government district at all if you don't want to, there are no main quest critical events there. The NPC that it will most affect in all probability is Imoen. Obviously you can't enter the spellhold dungeon prior to meeting her.

If you have level 1 NPCs installed there is an option that makes their experience more closely match that of your character. That seems more logical to me.

I have noticed that there seems to be a cap to the level at which characters join in the un-modded game.

wise grimwald wrote:If you have level 1 NPCs installed there is an option that makes their experience more closely match that of your character. That seems more logical to me.

I have noticed that there seems to be a cap to the level at which characters join in the un-modded game.

Not a cap to the level, but just the experience at 1.2million. So for Viconia that would be level 13, Korgan 11, Haer'Dalis 15, etc.

I'm not sure if levels absolutely predict which version of the NPC you get (400k, 800k, or 1.2m version) but it is a much better predictor than average experience of the party. I was always only able to get the level 13 Viconia if my solo Fighter, Paladin, Monk, or Sorcerer was also level 13. Their experience tables don't seem to matter... was never able to get her as a level 12 paladin even though that would be over 1.2mil exp. Oh, and for multiclass, it is the average level of both your classes rounded down. So a lvl 11/14 Fighter/Thief would not be able to get the 1.2million exp viconia but a level 12/14 Fighter Thief will (Tried this out).