GameBanshee Forums

I tried searches to see what people would gear up Aerie with, but I didn't come up with much. Granted, my character is a solo cleric/mage (well, wild mage), but I bet most of the same principles would apply.

Anyway, I'm trying to plan ahead as to how I want to gear up my cleric/mage (well, wild mage). Because of the limited inventory space, I'm going to be gunning for Spellhold as soon as I can to get that Bag of Holding. In the meantime, I have to pick and choose how I gear up and what items I keep around. Of course, I can switch gear for certain situations, but for general travel, I'm wondering how I should be decked out.

I'm guessing that the Robe of Vecna is an obvious choice for armor. For weapons, I know that the Staff of the Magi is pretty popular for all mages, but would it be wise to keep around something like FoA and a good shield? If so, what shield(s). And what about rings? If I go with something like the Ring of Acuity, I'm pretty much married to it (else I lose the spells I get when I remove it). Other stuff is flexible, but what is particularly good to keep around for this kind of character?

If you're attacking with the FoA, your C.M isn't doing his job well.

I suggest a good shield (the one you get in Trademeet has some great immunities) and a nice sling, and stay far away from combat.

I had a C/Illusionist in a no reloads game and almost went all the way with that strategy. I also had the Defender of Easthaven in case I did get caught in melee.

Robe of Vecna, Staff of the Magi, Ring of Wizardry, Bracers AC 3, Ring of Gaxx, Cloak of Protection +2 a strength belt and Boots of speed and you're set aren't you? That's what I can think off. The Amulet of Power too.

Keep some weapons around that have a chance to auto-kill certain oponents. Like that staff that kills golems and the Mace of Disruption and some elemental staffs.

When playing a cleric/mage I tend to try to avoid melee and even ranged weapons and focus on spells and summons. For this reason I normally equip my character with Crom Faeyr purely for the 25 strength, which will also help if you ever do find yourself having to resort to melee. Before you can get this then I agree with Onkel Bob about the Staff of the Magi.

I have a party sitting in Saradush where my protagonist is a Cleric/Illusionist. He's in a party, though. However, I quite often have him going in to close combat against enemy mages. That Staff of the Magi is just about the ultimate weapon against mages. I do admit it's different in this case though because after my protagonist hits the enemy mages then Korgan will finish them in one round.

Thanks for all the tips so far. I was figuring on getting the Staff of the Magi, but thought I should also get a sword and shield combo for variety. I know that because my obscene spellcasting power I should never end up in melee, but I probably will anyway, just because (with cleric buffs, haste, and tensers) I can. After all, I'm Chaotic Neutral.

What's the deal with the boots of speed? I mean, I know they increase movement rate, which is nice. But I would think that something like the boots of avoidance would be handier as spell disruption from archers is probably a bigger pain, no? Correct me if I'm wrong.

I've also been thinking about not going totally solo. After escaping the dungeon (I'd take everyone with me and then drop Jah and Minsc at the CC), I think I'd keep Yoshi around as he's part of the main storyline. I might keep Imoen around after I rescue her, I'm not sure. I probably don't need the extra mage...

Spoiler

but she is family

...and having a partial thief around isn't so bad either. Currently, I'm playing through BG1 with my cleric/illusionist and Imoen. I also might keep some NPCs around for their quests (i.e. taking Nalia to the Keep), but I'd ditch them right afterward.

If I keep such a minimal party can I still expect to max out my character (level-wise, and I have ToB) by the end of SoA?