Kensai/Mage or the Inquisitor????

BG4evadude · Post by **BG4evadude** » Wed Jan 14, 2004 2:01 am

I already have beaten BG couple of weeks ago with a Druid. Druids kinda sucks, so i wanna beat the game with some other great characters. So i cam across Paladins, and the Kensai/Mage.
So what would be good?

Kensai or the Inquisitors????????????

UserUnfriendly · Post by **UserUnfriendly** » Wed Jan 14, 2004 2:57 am

Originally posted by BG4evadude
I already have beaten BG couple of weeks ago with a Druid. Druids kinda sucks, so i wanna beat the game with some other great characters. So i cam across Paladins, and the Kensai/Mage.
So what would be good?

Kensai or the Inquisitors????????????

both are good, but i prefer kensai mages...cause you get an inquisitor as an npc in the game, if you want...

Bruce Lee · Post by **Bruce Lee** » Wed Jan 14, 2004 6:24 am

I wouldn't recommend to bring the inquistor npc along if you play as a kensai/mage though. They sort of cancel each other out.
Inquisitors do really well in fighter heavy parties I think.
Kensai/mages do really well all the time... as long as they are allowed to buff with spells and not have them cancelled by dispel magic from say.. and inquisitor

BG4evadude · Post by **BG4evadude** » Wed Jan 14, 2004 6:43 am

hmm... I was also thinking of creating a more improved Inquisitor than Keldorn. Would you people recommend me a Kensai fighter? Or a good Paladin????

nephtu · Post by **nephtu** » Wed Jan 14, 2004 11:42 am

It depends

Ultilately, it's really a question of taste, but to answer this, it would help to know if you're planning on soloing, or playing in a group, and what NPCs you want to take with you - and were you looking to Dual or Multi your Kensai mage? (and if dual at what level?) Without that info, it's not very meaningful.

Good gaming!

UserUnfriendly · Post by **UserUnfriendly** » Wed Jan 14, 2004 12:15 pm

Originally posted by Bruce Lee
I wouldn't recommend to bring the inquistor npc along if you play as a kensai/mage though. They sort of cancel each other out.
Inquisitors do really well in fighter heavy parties I think.
Kensai/mages do really well all the time... as long as they are allowed to buff with spells and not have them cancelled by dispel magic from say.. and inquisitor

urm...if you decide to take keldorn...spell immunity abjuration should be part of your buffing...

if you decide NOT to take keldorn, a spell sequenced remove magic is party friendly, and since its a triple, probably is as effective as inquisitor dispell...

so to my mind, either one is as effective...

Bruce Lee · Post by **Bruce Lee** » Wed Jan 14, 2004 3:44 pm

Remove magic is superior in almost every way to dispel magic. Remove magic tries to dispel all enemy spells inculding those that effect you and your party without removing your ownn protections. I would go for a kensai/mage if you haven't tried them before, pretty cool!
My personal favourite is the swashbuckler/mage but I guess thats off topic

And btw, haerdalis is the npc that gets to cast remove magic with the highest effective level

... unless you remove the cap ofcourse.
Remove magic level 40 is a sure thing.
Blades, swash/mages and kensai/mages are sort of similar, kensai/mage is of course the more offennsive and exotic of the three whereas the others are more rounded.

Galmar · Post by **Galmar** » Wed Jan 14, 2004 8:42 pm

Thats actually a pretty good idea, i never actually thought of a use for a bard like that. But you arent taking into account Inquisitor's double level dispell, whilst having 10 levels higher then the enemy is pretty much 90%+ chance of sucsess for soem reason i doubt all of the enemies are level restiricted in the same way PC / NPC party members are.

Inquisitor double level dispell... pssht, thats way too strong, as if truesight wasnt enough. I think they'd be better balanced with level 2 detect illusion in place of true sight, and a normal level dispell. They are 10x better then wizard slayers, its sad.

BG4evadude · Post by **BG4evadude** » Thu Jan 15, 2004 2:14 am

But when it comes to fighting would it be better for just a Kensai fighter? or an Inquisitor with a Carsomyr?????

My apologies for being making this complicated and picky.

lompo · Post by **lompo** » Thu Jan 15, 2004 2:52 am

They are both great char. (I played both).
Melee wise probably the Inquisitor is better (better thac0, hp and AC) but with the kensai/mage you can buff very well plus you are a mage.
So if you have time to set up all your protections kensai/mage become a great fighter, an Inquisitor is always a great fighter.

But you can get both, play as a kensai/mage and take Keldorn (who is indeed a good inquisitor, as his low stats can be fixed), or play as an Inquisitor and take Solaufein (fighter/mage).

For soloing kensai/mage is better fitted than the Inquisitor, but if you want to solo a paladin take Undead Hunter instead.

Bruce Lee · Post by **Bruce Lee** » Thu Jan 15, 2004 3:24 am

If you are comparing fighting skills between a straight kensai and an inquisitor then the kensai is ofcourse so much stronger. Kensai fighter is a fun class and you get to depend more on your party members aswell for protection, healing and buffing.
Spirit armour and chaotic commands cast on your kensai and you have a tank that deals superdamage.
Yeah Inquisitors are a lot better than wizardslayers but in ToB ws are not so bad as they were in SoA only.

Mirk · Post by **Mirk** » Fri Jan 16, 2004 11:19 am

@ BG4evadude's question:

But when it comes to fighting would it be better for just a Kensai fighter? or an Inquisitor with a Carsomyr?????

for most "regular" fights (the ones done when exploring/advancing to the main confrontation of the quest), when your char is not buffed or is buffed by the long-lasting spells such as stoneskin, tou won't feel any difference in power between the kensai-mage and the inquisitor, as both are powerful builds.

for the "ambush" fights, which are one of the most difficult since you can't prepare in advance, and sometimes you don't have the right spells, i feel that the inquisitor is slightly better-prepared, especially if you are not 110% familiar with the spells mechanics of BG2 (damage types and resistancies, casting, moving and attacking, protections and protection-rmovers, etc. i take the honor to refer you to the one site that will make you the expert you want to be on BG2 spellcasting: xyx's spell guide http://members.chello.nl/~j.vanthull/BG2SR/Main.htm)

for "big-boss" fights, when you have time tio prepare, the kensai-mage will be much more powerfull, if played right - that was my mistake, actually, as my first BG2 char was a kensai-mage, but i played him as a high-hp spellcaster, which was wrong - as superb fighting machine that he can be, with two 6(only!) level spells that change the game completely into kensai-mages heaven (i mean tenser's transformation and protection from magical weapons). those spells with the addition of the right buffing for each fight makes the kensai-mage an overkill char, actually. i've had many fights finished with the K/M unscratched and with most protections still holding on, with the rest of the party at the back hardly wasted a spell or an arrow. the key to this is of course knowing what spells to use (see the above link) and the patience to use them.

Bruce Lee · Post by **Bruce Lee** » Fri Jan 16, 2004 1:08 pm

Yeah what makes the kensai/mage, or any fighter/mage or mage really for that matter, so tough is knowledge of the game. If I should recommend a class for someone going through SoA for the first time and wanting an easy run an Inquisitor would be a good choice. With a mage or a fighter/mage you benefit so much from knowing what will come.

BG4evadude · Post by **BG4evadude** » Fri Jan 16, 2004 9:30 pm

thanx for the great info!!!!!!!!!