The most powerful item in the Baldur's Gate Saga?

Djimmy

So which one is it? Consider the strongest version of the following items:

Edit: Looking through the comments I see I have missed one(or maybe more) very potent item which is "Staff of the Magi". Feel free to specify it in your comment.

Wilbur

I think it depends a lot on your party composition and charname class, but my dual wielding kensai turned from a killing machine into an unstoppable whirlwind of destruction after getting Crom Faeyr.

Zanian

If unpatched, Cloak of Mirror is pure cheese. Patched, it's 80% cheese.
I dare say you're missing Staff of the Magi on that list. Even without all the passive abilities and spelltrap, the instant invisibility from switching weapons is extremely powerful.

Tinter

Being able to unload your entire spellbook is pretty unbeatable.

However, you also forgot the Staff of the Magi! If you are willing to be really abusive, reequiping for instant invisibility as many times as you like is really ridiculous.

Flail of Ages no save slow is also amazing, as is Carsomyrs dispel: weapon effects are the most important thing.

Crom Faeyr is nice and all, but strength really isn't hard to buff meaning it ends up being worth about +5 damage in reality, which is OK but not "slowing all my enemies" or "casting all my spells" or "always being invisible" good.

Aramintai

Definetly Robe of Vecna if you are a mage class of any kind. Carsomyr is the ultimate weapon for paladins. Crom Faeyr can make any cleric eligible for dps-ing in frontal assault, but it really shines in the hands of a fighter. Personally, I usually give it to Minsc along with that OP ToB hammer (don't remember the name) that has Negative Plane Protection.

Anton

Staff of the Magi

(STAF11)

karnor00

The unmodded Carsomyr (i.e. with dispel on hit) is a brute of a weapon for a paladin. Devastating against any casters (who are generally the toughest opponents). Even SCS II powered casters melt before it.

Djimmy

Zanian said:

If unpatched, Cloak of Mirror is pure cheese. Patched, it's 80% cheese.
I dare say you're missing Staff of the Magi on that list. Even without all the passive abilities and spelltrap, the instant invisibility from switching weapons is extremely powerful.

Yes, I have missed Staff of the Magi. I agree on the Cloak of Mirroring though.

Aramintai said:

Definetly Robe of Vecna if you are a mage class of any kind. Carsomyr is the ultimate weapon for paladins. Crom Faeyr can make any cleric eligible for dps-ing in frontal assault, but it really shines in the hands of a fighter. Personally, I usually give it to Minsc along with that OP ToB hammer (don't remember the name) that has Negative Plane Protection.

It is the Runehammer and yes the combination Runehammer +5 and Crom Faeyr is indeed fearsome.

Kamigoroshi

Lilarcor's brother. Come on, he's a +12 Hackmaster for Dog's sake!

cyberarmy

It really depends on which character you use that item on, Staff of the magi and ram was spectacular for my fighter/thief. Switch to magi for invis after ram for backpoke

Crom Fayer and Runehammer is a wicked dual wield couple. Give them to dwarf and let him sing his glory songs in battles!

Carsomyr +6. Aside from its bonuses, weapon protection? B!tch please.

List goes on Everyone of them is powerfull in its own way.

Kurumi

Big Metal...

jflieder

I agree that they are all powerful and some being the "best" can be situational. I'm a big fan of the elemental damage, stoneskin breaking and slowing aspects of the FoA. It'll interrupt spellcasting through stoneskin (though not through PfMW IIRC), it'll do damage to just about anything, and it's slow affect on tough baddies is helpful.

Rhyme

The answer is "Staff of the Magi," and it isn't close.

[Deleted User]

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ZanathKariashi

I still say the flail is the best. It can kill anything Carsomyr can, better. Carsomyr's on-hit dispel doesn't work vs PfMW, since it prevents the hit from happening..and FoA vs any other buff can ignored as your gazillion extra elements cut through all their other defenses, interrupting their casts and attacks, while dropping their cast and attack speeds to 10, while you smash their face in with superior blunt damage. Hell, you even deal about 5 more damage per hit on average then Carsomyr, unless the target is chaotic evil (which is a rare alignment...most are lawful or neutral evil, if they're even evil at all). And the free action protects from a myriad of effects, which in some ways is better then a flat MR %.

Staff of the magi.....is ok...but it's more of a "Hey I'm a huge dick!" weapon then a true force. It's got some nice defenses...but it's limited to a certain class, and even dual/multi, there's usually better options. So while it's definitely powerful...it's not a very practically powerful weapon.

Vecna is ok...but it requires IA to be worth a damn, which actually makes it one of the weaker items on the list.

Cloak of mirroring is ok...the unnerf'd version was very powerful, but only vs caster...while the nerf'd version is ok ...but only vs casters.

Crom Faeyr isn't worth the materials to craft. If it could be thrown like it's PnP version can, and had it's aoe thunderclap stun...maybe...but in it's current form, it's a weak useless item to trap noobs, that by the time you get it, you could 1 shot clay golem with any blunt weapon, there likely aren't any more trolls (which the FoA massacres in 2 hits anyway), and you've already killed the only ettin in the game (for a non-paladin, who probably already killed his extra one by that point as well).

Gaxx is ok....it's biggest advantage is not counting as a magical item, where magic armors or other jewelry are concerned. And the improved haste, gimp'd though it is, is quite nice. It's not really a game changer though.

Montresor_SP

It's a close call but I'd say Ravager +6, if only because Carsomyr can only be used by paladins (and thieves/bards with Use Any Item). Ravager +6 can be used by all warrior types (plus thieves/bards with UAI), does extra damage unless the target saves vs. poison, and has a 10% chance of decapitating the target with no save.

Chow

Staff of the Magi gets another vote from here. I mean, the ability to go invisible at will is just pure cheese.

Oxford_Guy

ZanathKariashi said:

Vecna is ok...but it requires IA to be worth a damn, which actually makes it one of the weaker items on the list.

By IA, do you mean Improved Alacrity?:

http://www.gamebanshee.com/baldursgateii/abilities/improvedalacrity.php

Debaser

If you make it a +5 weapon, Flail of the Ages can out damage everything aside from Ravager +6 in a hit. Putting it above Carsomyr and The Staff of The Ram.

It's hard for me to vote but I will when I look deeper into stats.

Some people prefer to keep FOA a +4 weapon even though it does 5 less damage as a result due to it making you impervious to improved haste with it's free action effect at +5.

Gram the Sword of Grief just might be an undersung weapon...as are Foebane and The Axe of the Unyielding.

Debaser

@Djimmy Also, Belm and Kundane should possibly be on this list...an additional attack for your main hand can be devastating.

Edwin

Jan Jansen's Spectroscopes

Pantalion

The Flail of Ages single handedly justifies taking Flail proficiency. 17-22 damage per hit, slow with no save, free action and 5% MR as gravy. There aren't many enemies that are completely immune to every element and blunt damage, so it's almost always relevant, and that's what I'd look for in the "most powerful" item. Anything can be amazing in a narrow set of conditions, but to be great constantly is impressive, and one can always swap slots when you want improved haste, switching free action back on only when it's murdering time.

And it's one handed, so in your off hand you can put in Hindo's Doom, Belm, Crom Faeyr or even just a shield, because who doesn't love versatility?

Meanwhile Carsomyr is only 13-24 damage per hit against Chaotic Evil enemies, and whilst its Dispel and MR are nice, you don't have to be a Paladin or a Fighter/Thief to use the FoA, meaning you can enjoy the Flail whilst potentially handling your own immunities. Against non-evil, non-mages who are tough without needing buffs (for example Dragons, a traditional Paladin foe), Carsomyr is merely a +6 sword.

Where the Robe of Vecna is of course powerful, and I'd say has the potential for being the most powerful, it is powerful because of the Mage who wears it, not the other way around.

@ZanathKariashi - Crom Faeyr's a mediocre primary weapon, true, but it's a superlative off-hand weapon. The instant kill part is utterly irrelevant, yes, but it saves you a belt slot, it has, I believe, an unmentioned +5 electrical damage or so on top of being a +5 hammer, and it gives you a Strength better than the otherwise maximum which is 23 for an Evil Half-Orc CHARNAME; so it's an extra +3 damage on top of that, meaning it's hitting for 10-13 damage before strength and 24-27 after it, plus it's giving your Flail an extra 4 damage (and giving your non-magical main weapon in the PfMW scenario that extra kick).

Madhax

It's close, but I voted for Vecna. Being able to insta-cast half my spellbook and to cast level 9 spells extremely quickly is absurd. If the robes only reduced casting time by 1, they'd still be extremely powerful.

Staff of the Magi is amazing, but if you resist the urge to cheese with it then it isn't gamebreaking. The Robe of Vecna overpowers you whether you like it or not.

Tinter

@pantalion +4 damage to your main weapon is worth less than any of the 3 weapons that grant a full extra attack (which is worth more than extra damage thanks to status effects, spell interuption, increased chance to hit). Extra strength is also probably worth less than the resistance from the defender of easthaven for most warriors, and its worse than the zerth blade for fighter/mages.

So that leaves it 6th best I think? A damage boost just isn't good enough to really be top tier.

UnknownQuantity

I'm not sure if the extra attack is so great. It basically gives you 1 extra attack with your main weapon, but the offhand weapon isn't usually that great. You could be using a better offhand weapon with more effects and have the same amount of attacks per round as the with off hand as the main hand is doing with the extra attack.

I like Corsomyr a lot because it has long reach, dispels magic, and grants a huge magic resistance bonus. The fact that it's Paladin only is a bonus as they get buffs to both increase damage you do with weapon and protect yourself from other harmful ailments. It seems like a winning combination. I was always envious of Keldorn and Misnc standing in the front with 2 handed swords smashing everything to bits while my swashbuckler/mage stood in the back waiting for the right time to cast a spell.

Tinter

Your main hand weapon will be better than whatever is your off hand weapon, otherwise... it would be your main hand weapon. So it works out as 3 "best" attacks and one mediocre one versus 2 "best" attacks and one good one. Obviously- go for the four attacks with 3 best!

The extra attack is just that - extra, it doesn't sacrifice your normal offhand attack.

Kortok

Helm of Vahilor is the most powerful item.

UnknownQuantity

Tinter said:

Your main hand weapon will be better than whatever is your off hand weapon, otherwise... it would be your main hand weapon. So it works out as 3 "best" attacks and one mediocre one versus 2 "best" attacks and one good one. Obviously- go for the four attacks with 3 best!

The extra attack is just that - extra, it doesn't sacrifice your normal offhand attack.

There are some nice weapons that grant protection from some nasty effects like level drain which would be good as a offhand weapon IMO. There is a flail that gives damage resistance to blunt, slashing, and piercing attacks. There is also a few weapons that make you immune to level drain that are good for offhand IMO.

Tinter

The resistance one is the Defender of Easthaven- its in my list. The Mace of Distruption grants immunity to level drain and kills undead instantly; its not an off-hand weapon, it should be out and in your main hand when the walking dead are about!

ZanathKariashi

@Pantalion

18 base +1 manual, +1 Lum, +1 Deck (21 max good), +3 Evil Hell (2 for evil, +1 for unleashing wrath) = 24 str
19 base +1 manual, +1 lum, +1 Deck (22 max good), +3 Evil Hell (2 for evil, +1 for unleashing wrath) = 25 str

F/C, R/C, Paladins, F/C/M, C/M, C/T, can all buff to 25 str naturally with DUHM (and usually hit 25 dex and con as well...and really..2nd lvl doesn't have crap for divine spells anyway). Barbarians can also hit 25 while raging, as long as they had 18 str at creation and have all possible bonuses (that a good can get).

That doesn't leave a lot of options...and in terms of damage, there's several other off-hands that would pair well with FoA for better damage, or to bring more useful effects.

Not to mention...if you're playing in a party, that's 2 REALLY good str increasing items sacrificed to get one marginally better (+5 more damage over the frost giant belt used in construction), that could've been spread around the party for better results.

It's not nearly as bad a trade if you're solo, and good....though...ugh...it's still a late comer...by the time you have it, you have pretty much all the other, better weapons already.

shawne

As a mage, I have to say the single most invaluable item in my inventory was the Staff of the Magi...