@moopy's right. Check your character sheet: You'll see that there's no armor class modifier giving you a bonus to AC vs. missiles. Equip a one-handed melee weapon, and you will see it.
You make a good point regarding spells per day, but I think you overestimate the value of higher caster level. By the time either one even gets level 5 spells, they have a high enough caster level to max out Str by stacking DUHM and Righteous Magic (which, incidentally, makes the +1 Str from the holy symbol rather redundant). Once you nudge past that 3 mil mark, the MC has a 15 caster level, which is more than long enough for the 1 round/level buffs and not far from the hard cap on caster level for most spells. And while you're getting a few extra Iron Skins each casting, the MC is making use of the incredible synergy between Righteous Magic and Greater Whirlwind/Critical Strike. Sure, GWW doesn't last long, but it doesn't need to when you're getting 10 attacks at maximum damage with 25 Str.
In short, I'm willing to give you comparable, but I'm not willing to give you objectively better.
I don't think I underestimate spell caster at all. Yes, caster levels isn't as important for DUHM, but it still matters for Holy Power, Iron Skins, Magic Resistance, Armor of Faith, Turn Undead, etc. AoF and MR in particular don't get the last boost til lvl 20, which the DC C/R would hit before the MC 2.5M+ xp earlier. The MC would have decent THAC0, but it can't be boosted as much by Holy Power as a DC would (like i mentioned before, the difference is 5+), so the DC has better THAC0 buffed throughout most of the game. And you would need a caster level of 18 to bump up an imported 19 Str/Dex/Con C/R to 25. You can do that at the ~2.3M XP mark for the DC, but at the 4.5M XP mark for the MC.
From purely clerical perspective, if you ever lugged around both Anomen (or Viconia) and Aerie, their difference in their cleric duties (mainly Turn Undead and buff potency) alone is really apparent. I just feel like the MC is so far behind that you don't get to fully utilize your perks until too far into the game. Aerie, for instance, would likely never instagib vampires or turn Liches through the phases of the game that you'll need it, while Anomen and Viconia (well she technically mindcontrols them) would do that with ease. I think Anomen actually instagibbed the Lich in ToB on my first playthrough. Was it necessary at that point of the game? Probably not, but it was fun and easier... XD
On top of that, if you have 19 Str from BG1 and choose to forgo learning Righteous Might for the other level 5 spells, you'll need the +1 Str from the cleric ring because Holy Power + DUHM would result in 24 Str & 25 Dex/Con. It's one of those engine quirks that you have to work around because Righteous Might sets your Str to 18/00, resulting in -1 Str if you have 19 Str. This -1 Str bypasses the DUHM boost, so you need an extra factor to bump it back up to 25. If you have 18 Str, well you're not going to get 25 Str with DUHM without the ring, because caster levels are capped at 20.
And like I said before, I just find DC more enjoyable because you get more stuff to play with through more of the game. That about sums up why I like it more - you get the fun stuff so much earlier in the game. Feeling noticably powerful throughout the game is preferable to feeling slightly more powerful at the end of the game.
And like I said before, I just find DC more enjoyable because you get more stuff to play with through more of the game. That about sums up why I like it more - you get the fun stuff so much earlier in the game. Feeling noticably powerful throughout the game is preferable to feeling slightly more powerful at the end of the game.
Fair enough, I find the MC more enjoyable because I get more stuff to play with throughout the entire first game (I get to be a Ranger and a Cleric from level 1, while you get to be a Ranger, then a Cleric, then wait for BG2 to lift the level cap so you can finally be both), and because from the latter half of SoA on I get the Ranger's and the Cleric's HLA's to play with, instead of grabbing the 4ish Cleric HLA's that matter and then grabbing the rest because there's nothing better to do.
Comments
Sling ++++
Sword and Shield Style ++
or
Sling ++++
Dart ++
(and use shield anyway)
(Kensai can't use the sling, and Berserker can't place more than one pip in Sling.)
The sword and shield style isn't activated unless you have a one handed melee weapon in your main hand and a shield in your off hand.
Thanks, I never noticed that. Well, Sling and Darts it would be then.
From purely clerical perspective, if you ever lugged around both Anomen (or Viconia) and Aerie, their difference in their cleric duties (mainly Turn Undead and buff potency) alone is really apparent. I just feel like the MC is so far behind that you don't get to fully utilize your perks until too far into the game. Aerie, for instance, would likely never instagib vampires or turn Liches through the phases of the game that you'll need it, while Anomen and Viconia (well she technically mindcontrols them) would do that with ease. I think Anomen actually instagibbed the Lich in ToB on my first playthrough. Was it necessary at that point of the game? Probably not, but it was fun and easier... XD
On top of that, if you have 19 Str from BG1 and choose to forgo learning Righteous Might for the other level 5 spells, you'll need the +1 Str from the cleric ring because Holy Power + DUHM would result in 24 Str & 25 Dex/Con. It's one of those engine quirks that you have to work around because Righteous Might sets your Str to 18/00, resulting in -1 Str if you have 19 Str. This -1 Str bypasses the DUHM boost, so you need an extra factor to bump it back up to 25. If you have 18 Str, well you're not going to get 25 Str with DUHM without the ring, because caster levels are capped at 20.
And like I said before, I just find DC more enjoyable because you get more stuff to play with through more of the game. That about sums up why I like it more - you get the fun stuff so much earlier in the game. Feeling noticably powerful throughout the game is preferable to feeling slightly more powerful at the end of the game.