Originally posted by Nightfire:
<STRONG>So ... which ones do you prefer? My gang is hunting Yaga Shura at the moment, everyone has around 4 million EXP, but since battles tend to be over rather quickly, I have not used any special skills or spells yet. This, I hear, is about to change very soon.
For warriors, Hardiness and Greater Whirlwind look nice on paper.
Cleric and mage abilities seem harder to evaluate, apart from Improved Alacrity (nasty with Time Stop, I wager) and maybe Summon Planetar. Do Energy Blades (the phyiscal damage, at least) cut through magic resistance?
And a question about multiclass characters: I heard you can choose from either class' pool when you level, but so far, Aerie has not been able to access any mage abilities other than Extra 6th Level Spell, while Jaheira can select all abilities from both the fighter and the druid pool. So ... when do multiclass mages get to pick up the big guns?</STRONG>
Greater Whirlwind is definitely the most powerful fighter ability. Smite is quite handy as well, but you have to be careful with it; Minsc has been known to blast enemies clear off the screen!
Mages have a lot of versatility. Dragon's Breath, Comet, and Energy Blades can all do ridiculous amounts of damage, though Dragon's Breath and Comet are affected by fire resistance. Improved Alacrity is equally silly, especially with the Robe of Vecna and Amulet of Power.
Greater Elemental Summoning is definitely the druid's most powerful ability. Although they only serve you for ten rounds, these bad boys will tear apart virtually anything; even a Planetar. Implosion is also handy for some quick, cheesy damage, and Globe of Blades can turn Jaheira into a whirling dervish of death!
Like duids, clerics have Implosion to take down single tough enemies, and Storm of Vengeance to wipe out hordes of weaker ones.
Thieves have plenty of great traps, which, unfortunately, still steals a lot of the impending doom from dragons. They can also Assassinate, which allows every hit to count as a backstab.
As for Aerie, the reason you haven't been able to pick high-level spells for her is because she can't cast them yet. In fact, at the SoA experience point cap, she can't even cast 7th level spells yet. You'll have to level her up several times before she can cast 9th level spells, which is a shame. This is why I dropped her for Sarevok.
