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Hello all,


I'm currently trying to decide which class to pick as a solo adventure throughout Athkatla e.d. while Throne of Bhaal also installed. We at shrimp refuge (here for the Dutch) started gathering a few people who are interested in doing a solo run (mostly for the first time). I'd like to pick a somewhat unique class - having three ranger/clerics doing the same run seems awkward. We plan on writing a report (achievements: defeated x, completed dungeon y) etc. So, the first step for me is to decide which class to pick. I already boiled it down to:

- single class sorcerer
- single class blade kit - bard
- dual class swashbuckler / mage
- dual class swashie / cleric

Most other people there are interested in the assassin too so I'd prefer to pick something else myself but the backstab thing sounds so promising. Someone already picked the druid, so I'll leave the interesting kensai/druid combination up to him. I first opted for the assassin but I don't need those cheesy backstab tactics.

Pro/contra sorcerer

+ I love arcane magic. And I love it even more with HLA's and level 7/8/9 spells
+ these guys are big spell cannons - with vecna + amulet of power.
- limited amount of spells can be REALLY PAINFUL in solo!
- No direct way to open locks etc - unless you waste picks on knock

Pro/contra blade

+ nice fighting skills, dual wielding 3 prof. points, offensive spinning
+ rogue HLA abilities plus some bard song
- hey, the best arcane magic is from level 7 and up! Bah
- thieving skills but no open lock/disarm traps. This hurts...

Pro/contra swashbucler/cleric OR /mage

+ also fighting skills + magic combined. (better than blade's THAC0 or not?)
+ pump locks and traps to 100 and pick set snare to 55 or so
- limited spell memorization slots, requires tendious management

Edit2: Okay, which class is virtually better: swash/mage or Blade? I'm talking about melee abilities, to hit rate etc. It's difficult choosing between use any item + traps but only lvl6 spells or higher level mage abilities but nothing for the thief. And then there's the third choice: don't dual class and pick the sorcerer. Any advice?

The swashbuckler/cleric will have the best thac0 and is the most interesting of your options.
The other options are far easier and not very challenging because of the cheesy mage spells like mirror image, stoneskin and mislead. Assassin is surely less cheesy than arcane character.

A solo run with multiple participants seems like a nice idea, and challenging to boot! However, keep in mind that you can solo the vanilla game with any, and I literally mean any character. Yes, even with a Beast Master. If you really want to make it challenging, you could make it a no deaths, no reloads solo game. Or install Tactics and Improved Battles. Now, that will spice things up.

At any rate, that's not why you came here, so I'll not bother you with those petty suggestions anymore. Instead, let us first analyse the characters you prefer the most.

First, the Blade. The jack-of-all-trades, master of none class in this game. I see this class as a slightly changed Fighter/Mage multiclass with the advantage of pick pocketing (buy all the great items immediately), traps, bard song, UAI ability and, also quite important, fast levelling. If you ever took Dalis along for the Shadows of Amn journey, you will probably know how powerful this class can get -if you manage it correctly, that is. Spells such as mirror image, stoneskin and PfMW get you through the entire game. Combine that with Offensive Spin and you get a powerful fighter (for that extra edge, try melf's minute meteors with OS and watch how quickly your enemies go down.) Longswords (Equalizer) and/or Katana's (CF) and/or Scimitars (Belm) are probably your choice of weapons. Basically, with a blade you can pretty much do anything you like. A high lore for identifying, spells to protect, disable and get nice XP boosts when adding them to your spellbook, Spins for that extra edge and HLA’s for possible cheesiness. Yes, you miss out on the real high level mage spells, but you barely need them anyway and if you really want them, you can buy them.

Second, the Swash/Mage and Swash/Cleric. Personally, I’m not a big fan of any dual classed character. I prefer to go all the way and get all the nifty abilities available to a certain class. That said, a Swash dualled to any of these two classes is still more than able to beat the game, although you’ll be very, very weak when you dual. As a mage, this can be just a minor bump in the road due to his ability to scribe spells in your spellbook, but as a cleric you’ll have more problems. The upside of this all, however, is that both the cleric and the mage class compliment the swashbuckler quite well. You can skip stealth because of sanctuary and invisibility spells and instead put them in open locks and find traps (or even skip the open locks ability in favour of pickpocket and instead use knock or the cleric’s strength enhancing spells). A swash can’t backstab, but he gets a THACO and damage bonus which might help both the classes you’re dualling to (thought not as much as when you would pick a fighter). Giving points to set traps will not be as useful as you might think; it will only net you a few weak traps. Setting traps is a task better suited to a high level thief. Weapons of choice would probably be Staves (Staff of Ram), or Flails (FoA) and Warhammers (Crom Faeyr!). But like you mentioned, this requires quite a bit of management and you really need to pay attention when you dual.

Lastly, there’s the Sorcerer. I don’t think this class needs much explanation; played well this is one of, if not the most powerful class in the game. Open to countless cheese possibilities and once you get project image you will never need to worry about having too few spells. I could go on for quite a few pages, but instead I’ll give you a few links which you might want to check out yourself:
First. Xyx’s spells guide. Basically, this covers the entire spell casting system of the game. Indispensable if you really want to learn how to use spells: [url="http://members.chello.nl/~j.vanthull/BG2SR/Main.htm"]Xyx's Spells Reference[/url]
Second: A thread discussing spell selection for a (solo) sorcerer which you'll find [url="http://www.gamebanshee.com/forums/baldurs-gate-ii-shadows-of-amn-9/suggestion-for-spell-selection-on-sorcerer-26939.html?highlight=Sorcerer"]here[/url]


So, it all comes down what your goal is: raw power (sorcerer), fun and almost unlimited options for situations (blade) or power and a bit of versatility but at the cost of a lot of management (Swash/Cleric or Swash/Mage). If you compare the melee capabilities, I think the blade has a slight edge as well. Yes, the swash get those extra thaco and to hit and damage bonuses, but unless you dual really late, I don’t see how much use it really is. Furthermore, it takes long before you’re really able to hit anything well because you’re going to dual. So, compared, the blade has the slight edge, especially because he levels much faster (but this point is also open to debate since you’re soloing anyway). Personally, I’m more of a fighting type and therefore I would go for the Blade. When I read your post on the other hand, I get the idea you really want those high level spells and thus the dualled swash might be your choice.

Hope this helped a bit. If not, I’ll keep an eye on this thread.


P.S.: I read the site you linked to in your post and I would advice against using the Shapeshifter Rebalancing component from the Ease of Use mod. Trust me, it is horribly overpowered. You’re better off with the Shapeshifter fix from Refinements.

Wow that was one of the most informative posts I've ever seen Thank you very much!

Okay I think I ruled out the swashbuckler/cleric for now: I've played with /cleric combinations my last Irenicus run (ranger) and I really want arcane magic for this solo. I think I'll also scratch the socerer idea: played with Kelsey mod almost every time I can remember. The few spell picks might cause minor trouble but I'd like to try out most spells I otherwise never would have used. Like for instance mislead (read in your spell reference link, thanks for that!) and other illusions which seems to be a _VERY_ good one. Although I'd have to ask: can this be dispelled using true sight? I guess so.

Are you absolutely positive that the blade has the combat edge over the swash/mage (excluding whirlwind/offensive spin)? I didn't compare their THAC0 and tohit statistically (yet). It also seems the blade can't be more than profient with a weapon class, is this correct? Only one pip in a mastery seems too bad. Okay I just tried with the swashbuckler, he also can't put any more in a weapon class. Damn. Either way, whatever I choose, I'll probably end up using dual weapons + scimitar/longsword/katana anyway. Also, is the maximum #spell slots available at max level - 6 - the same for the blade as the dual classed mage?
And if I'm going to choose for the dual class, I won't be dual-classing too late since I want access to as much high level spells as possible! By the way, I know bards level up faster but I really can't see much of an advantage there, except maybe in the beginning of the game. I mean, you only have access to lvl6 spells and your lyric song doesn't get any better - so what does except gaining a few extra spins per day?

Edit: damn damn damn, while reading the spell reference I so want to go for solo sorcerer.
Lol.

I can't give you an indepth reply now; for that you'll have to wait for tomorrow.

A few things which you need to take into consideration, however (and which would help me advice the right class for you).

-Will you install ToB or only SoA? (i.e. will the HLA be available to you?)
-Do you want your mage spells to compliment your fighting abilities or vice versa?
-Do you want to get as much XP as possible?
-Where in the game do you want your character to have the most power compared to others? (beginning, mid-game or end-game?)
-And last, are you planning on installing mods?

Okay I started and I picked the Blade, sorcerer would have been way too cheesy, might have kept that one for my second solo project. I can't go into detail right now, I'm about to go to bed. I finished the first level of Irenicus' dungeon with A LOT of trouble and A LOT of teeth grinding and reloading. Goddamn, I never knew a game like this would become so difficult at the beginning - my THAC0 is 17 (dual wielding is ridiculous: main 18/offhand 20) and I hit jack ****, lol. Luckily, some magic helps a lot and the offensive spin is really powerful and helpful but I can't rest every thirty minutes... Even 4 goblins are giving me trouble (I attacked them - 20 minutes and 2 health potionis later the battle was over: I constantly missed, so dit the goblins mostly). Urgh

More detailed report tomorrow!

I've put up a very detailed play report of my solo blade so far:
read it here - Jefklak's Codex | Soloing Through BG2

A Blade? Nice choice! Disregard my earlier questions in that case.

Here are a few tips for playing a Blade:
-Use MMM and Offensive Spin as much as possible. There are few enemies that survive a five attacks per round attack with Offensive Spin activated. Especially from a +6 weapon which, on top of that, does +3 fire damage (and remember: use an off-hand weapon when casting these things, for you'll get the off-hand attack as well).
-Get your sequencers as soon as you can. Even Minor Sequencer (imagine an uninterruptible Blurr and Mirror Image in time of need).
-Steal. Steal, steal and steal your ass off. I image you're already familiar with the trick by now, but if you want a nice target, go to that big-boned-bartender in MaeVar's Guildhall. Do this all before you start questing! Once you got yourself a nice amount of coins, buy yourself Dak'kon's Zerth Blade, a nice Girdle, some potions and loads and loads of scrolls! Buy Galoomp, Ribald and the woman at the back of the story empty if you can (the useful spells first, of course). Scribing them all is bound to give you at least a couple of extra levels. Once you are of high enough level, get Celestial Fury as fast as you can. If you have ItemUpgrade: you're definitely going to like it. If you have Tactics installed (Acid Kensai); CF will eventually have an amazing partner in combat.
-Make optimal use of your high levels through spells such as Fireball, Skull Trap, Remove magic, etc.
-Once you get your HLA’s (Use Any Item and Improved Bard Song) start cloning with mislead and Simulacrum. Get Vhailor's Helm. Imagine two or more high level bards singing, summoning and cast and attacking (through the use of Melf's).

Good luck with your journey! I'll occasionally take a look at the links you posted to see how you progress. If you have any questions, you know where to knock.

After a couple of tries, I destroyed the slavers in the slums district. Getting there via the sewers is extremely dangerous since the all mob you at once, but escaping (after a bow critical hit to the nearest enemy) + waiting for them to come after me > skull trap: 3 slavers dead, couple injured. offensive spin + whack away. Yay! The trolls gave me much trouble, had to use speed oil and 2 defensive spins. I still can't hit jack ****...

One question: where can I buy potions of master thievery? I already bought those from gaelen's friend upstairs and I'm looking for more.

Tried Ribald, the guy in the temple sewers (Roger) and the aforementioned bartender in MaeVar's Guildhall?

By the way, if I may be so blunt to direct you to two links.
The [url="http://www.gamebanshee.com/forums/baldurs-gate-ii-shadows-of-amn-9/tactics-mod-overkill-of-difficulty-60517.html?highlight=tactics"]first[/url] thread covers the beginning of the tactics mod with a party. Yes, a party, I know, but it might give you a general overview for the dungeon, its difficultly and possible tactics.
The [url="http://www.gamebanshee.com/forums/baldurs-gate-ii-shadows-of-amn-9/any-mods-possible-minor-spoiler-66525.html?highlight=Improved+Torgal"]second[/url] thread discusses the different components of the tactics mod and how I regard their difficulty.

Yeah already bought his whole stock, but the Mae'Var guildhall storekeep had 8 more, hehehe I stole a bunch of stuff and made myself a ring of preservation +2. Right now carrying:

Katana +2 Zerth' Balde (AC+1)
Longsword +2 Balduran's (Magic Res +10%)
Amulet of Power (Magic Res +5%)
Bracers of Defence AC4
Girdle of stone gaint STR (19) >> 2 free THAC0, very much needed
some other junk

Total AC is -4 (no armor yet, going after bladesinger soon), THAC0 is 10.
Thanks for the links, I'll start reading right now!
Updated my report and added part 3

jefklak wrote:Total AC is -4 (no armor yet, going after bladesinger soon), THAC0 is 10.
Thanks for the links, I'll start reading right now!

AC means very little when playing Tactics. THACO and Magic and Elemental Resistance are much more important. That Boots of Speed are invaluable in a solo game seems a given, too. What I would advice is getting Spell Immunity as soon as possible. You're going to need the protection from enchantment and necromancy spells. Badly.

I am really having trouble with my THAC0 progression...
I saw bards get a base THAC0 of 10 at level 22 but it doesn't improve after that
Fighters get 0 at level 21... That sucks!

I've equipped girdle of strenght > 19 > +2 THAC0 bonus
Is there any arcane spell that further recudes this tohit rate?
Fighter/mages are that much easier... It's getting VERY VERY VERY frustrating to miss 80%+ of my hits only on lowly enemies I have to rely on spellcasting and minute meteors way too often, even for stupid generic encounters... Sigh.
Fully buffed up (bless seems to give me -1 base THAC0) gives me 5/7 THAC0 and 4 attacks/round:

jefklak wrote:I am really having trouble with my THAC0 progression...
I saw bards get a base THAC0 of 10 at level 22 but it doesn't improve after that
Fighters get 0 at level 21... That sucks!

I've equipped girdle of strenght > 19 > +2 THAC0 bonus
Is there any arcane spell that further recudes this tohit rate?
Fighter/mages are that much easier... It's getting VERY VERY VERY frustrating to miss 80%+ of my hits only on lowly enemies I have to rely on spellcasting and minute meteors way too often, even for stupid generic encounters... Sigh.
Fully buffed up (bless seems to give me -1 base THAC0) gives me 5/7 THAC0 and 4 attacks/round:

Tenser's Transformation is your friend.

Tensers' is a level 6 spell. Not usable in quite a while that is!

jefklak wrote:Tensers' is a level 6 spell. Not usable in quite a while that is!

Can't be that long. You're solo'ing a rogue for crying out loud...

Thac0 is never really an issue. If a fighter can can get -15 easly with a base of 0 or -1, the Blade will have a worse Thac0 by 10. You can expect a Thac0 in the -5 region, meaning your hitting AC -7 on a 2 or higher. Remember that 1 is an automiss anyway. very few things have have AC below -5 so your good to go, and as mentioned for the few things you can't hit consistently there's Tensers.

Yes, use Offensive spin often.

I personally would've gone with an elf for the high dexterity. I usually have almost nothing in Strength as you can manage with the Strength Spell until you find Gauntlets of Ogre Power or manage to but the Belt of Hill Giant Strength.

As for the weapons, my favorite combination to use is Belm +2 and Kundane +2. Each one adds +1 per round. So without any other enhancements you're attacking four times per round.

The first one is a scimitar and the second one is a shortsword.

Tenser's Transformation and Improved Haste are your tools of destruction. With Tenser's you have over 300 health and with Improved Haste you're dishing out eight attacks per round.

Now, as you go along, don't forget Offensive Spin. Not only does it add one more attack per round but but it lets you deal full damage. Also, you should get a Ring of Free Action as soon as you can as if you're using Improved Haste (with which Offensive Spin is not compatible) you might as well use Defensive Spin. Sure, it roots you to the ground, but the Ring of Free Action removes any effect that hinders your movement so that just eliminates the disadvantage of that ability. Now, you have amazing hitpoints, attacks per round and an insane defense score.

I soloed a Blade with the ToB expansion installed and I managed to get her to level 32 before I left Chapter Two. They are incredibly powerful and if you couldn't tell, they are one of my favorite classes.

I also believe that it is beneficial to do certain quests first, just to make your life easier, but that's just me.

You should be fine. Just grab yourself some armor (elven chain if possible - you can find it very early on) and enjoy.

Don't forget to use Blur to further increase your armor class.

elves can't be bards...
Thanks for the tips!
I just got the elven chainmail in the astral prison... Tough fight, but I managed to hold well

I'll upgrade my report with screenshots tonight or tomorrow.
edit: Part 4: the Astral Prison

Okay, I need some tips and tricks from you guys...
How do you handle liches and powerful mages as a blade?

How in the world am I supposed to kill the lich north of the thieves guildhall (tactics mod)?
She casts timestop, spelltrap, prot. from magic weapons, spell turning (not minor one)
After that a bunch of offensive stuff: ice storm, death cloud, finger of death, ...

>> How can you pierce her shield? Breach has no effect... Spelltrap is killing me
>> What to do against finger of death? I constantly die there...
All my spells and weapons are ineffective and minute meteors get reflected back to me.

I know you're supposed to wait until chapter 6, but other mages give me the same prooblems...
Help