iloveoov wrote:Hi, I am new to this game. I just bought bg2 the collection a week ago. I got some questions about clerics and mages.
1) usually what kind of spells do clerics casts during or prior to battle? My friend told me i should be casting bless, chant, defensive harmony.
also, cure light wounds doesn't seem really effective. the casting time is long, and it doesn't heal much.
2) same question for mages, what kind of spells they cast to protect themselves, all i know is stone skin and mirror image. For offensive spells, which are the good ones other than skull trap? I tried fireball but i always hurt my teammates. What i usually do is just web and let my fighters shoot arrows at my enemies.
Your combat tactics will probably change as the game progresses, because you will face stronger enemies with better saving throws and magic resistance, etc., and your own spellbook will give you more options.
Your Mage mainly needs protection from missile weapons and enemy spells. You should definitely use Stoneskin, and there are occasions when Mirror Image is useful, but in general, you shouldn't let your Mage be attacked. At lower levels, you should keep him in the back out of harm's way. From there, you should have him cast spells that will make it easier for your melee warriors to kill your opponents. For example, if your Mage is 8th level and your party runs into a group of monsters or enemy adventurers, I suggest casting Glitterdust, Slow, and Emotion. If your enemies are blind or slowed or unconscious, you will quickly gain the upper hand. Your Mage can also target single enemies with Spook. Your Mage can inflict some damage with a sling from a distance (there's no shame in that, especially if you have a magical sling and magical bullets), but if you want to cast spells that inflict damage, you need to use spells that won't hurt your own party such as Magic Missile, Melf's Acid Arrow, and Flame Arrow. Burning Hands is useful at close range, but you shouldn't need it very often. Melf's Minute Meteors is also an effective spell, not only because it can cause a lot of damage but also because the fire damage can hurt enemies that are protected from melee damage. It's a good way to disrupt enemy spellcasters who are protected by Stoneskin, for example.
Your Mage should not memorize any spells that can be replaced by a wand. For example, instead of casting Fireball, you should use a Wand of Fire. Same with Cloudkill, Lightning Bolt, and Monster Summoning I and II.
As your Mage gets higher in level, you'll have a wider choice of spells. When it comes to 6th level spells, for instance, Death Spell can be very effective (unless the monsters are immune to it). But you need to decide whether you would rather cast Improved Haste on your Mage's fellow party members. When it comes to 5th levels spells, Hold Monster is a good spell to use on groups of enemies, and you will frequently need to use Breach and Lower Resistance to make your enemies vulnerable to attack. When your Mage reaches 15th level, Animate Dead can be used to summon skeleton warriors, which are much stronger than ordinary skeletons. Mordenkainen's Sword is also one of the best summoning spells, exceeded only by the quest level spell Summon Planetar.
When your Mage can cast the 7th level spell Project Image, you can create a clone that can use all of your spells and all of the items in your quick slots. This enables you to use the same scrolls repeatedly and cast more spells without resting. When your Mage (or your Mage's clone) is able to cast Time Stop and Abi-Dalzim's Horrid Wilting, you'll be able to wipe out most groups of enemies without taking any damage at all. When you get the quest level spell Dragon's Breath, your Mage will be able to kill almost anything except the toughest monsters in the game.
Many players like to use Spell Sequencer, Spell Trigger, Contingency, and Chain Contingency. You can search these forums for special tips.
Let's say your Mage is 10th level. Do an experiment. Find a group of enemies and try using the following spells while your melee warriors engage them in combat: Magic Missile, Spook, Glitterdust, Melf's Minute Meteors, Slow, Stoneskin, Emotion, and Hold Monster. Use as many of them as you can, and don't use any other spells. The results should speak for themselves.
As for your Cleric, you can use spells such as Bless, Chant, and Protection from Evil before going into battle, but I find that it's more useful to cast healing spells after the battle. There are also some specialized protection spells you should use if you know what kind of enemies you will face ahead of time, such as Chaotic Commands and Negative Plane Protection. Remove Paralysis and Negate Poison come in handy sometimes. As for damage spells, Holy Smite is very effective, and Glyph of Warding is essentially the Holy Hand Grenade. There are several spells you can use against undead monsters such as False Dawn. Holy Word is effective against enemy spellcasters, and Bolt of Glory is suitable for those rare occasions when you meet a demon. Magic Resistance is supposed to be a friendly spell for use on your own party members, but it can be used against your enemies to LOWER their magic resistance. Just read the spell descriptions, find an occasion to use them, and learn how they work.
I normally don't play single-class Clerics; I usually play multi-class or dual-class Fighter/Clerics and Cleric/Rangers. When they go into melee combat, I use Armor of Faith, Draw Upon Holy Might, and Righteous Magic. When they can use High Level Abilities in Throne of Bhaal, I use Energy Blades in combination with Critical Strike, and I use Summon Deva.
Good luck!