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Cleric->Mage thoughts?

JaggedJagged Member Posts: 105
in Archive (General Discussion)
Hey guys,

What are your thoughts on a cleric-> mage dual? I'm thinking of taking a priest of helm to bg2 before going to mage.

Is this a combination that would work?

PS is there a way to change the class name? Could I change Helm to Hoar on the status screen?

Thanks!

Comments

  • DJKajuruDJKajuru Member Posts: 3,300
    edited April 2013
    You know, pleople are gonna tell ya to reach high levels first - but I honestly think that , although dual classing is fun, waiting long to achieve it is boring.

    So my thoughts would be :

    cleric 2/ mage = you're a mage with special abilities who can wear a shield and helmet. Besides , having extra healing spells really helps throughout the whole game.

    cleric 3 or 4/mage = 2nd level priest spells are amazing . Hold person , slow poison, silence... they're priceless, and you're gonna use them a lot.

    Post edited by DJKajuru on
  • JaggedJagged Member Posts: 105
    Hmm, I hadn't thought about that. I was planning on taking the priest up to 14 or so but I can see the advantages of an early dual.
  • lunarlunar Member Posts: 3,460
    It is a powerful combo. You really shouldn't dual at lvl 2, lvl 3 needs little xp and gives you tons of lvl 2 cleric spells:18 wis and ring of holyness nets you a lot of useful spells like Hold person, silence, slow poison. Waiting until lvl 5 is doable too, and lvl 3 cleric spells are sweet:Animate dead is cheap good summon, Remove paralysis saves those who are paralysed by ghoul/ghasts, Holy smite is useful in most fights. Getting mage to lvl 6 is doable if you know how to farm xp (Sirines, basilisks, etc) and you can still be useful as a lvl 1 mage. Cast your sleep spell and blast away with all the wands you've collected up to that point.

    Helm is the best choice for free True Sight. Talos's lightning is nothing special for a mage and Lathander abilities are meh.

    In the end, you will have nifty cleric spells, full mage levels in BG:EE, a mage with good HP, better save vs paralyse/poison/death, who can wear helmets, shields, and can use all wand types in the game. You lose access to darts and daggers, but gain flails and maces which are more damaging anyway.
  • JaggedJagged Member Posts: 105
    How about waiting until BG2 to dual? Do you think it delays the high level mage spells too long if I wait to dual?
  • lunarlunar Member Posts: 3,460
    edited April 2013
    I've done it once, waited until lvl 14 to dual into mage, in late SoA. You can gain xp rapidly by dumping party members and scribing scrolls all day long, erasing spells and rescribing them for xp. It takes a lot to gain cleric abilities back though, and you can only cast one lvl 7 spells and 2 lvl 5-6 spells, nice but not ground-breaking really. Oh you can pull off the dreaded timestop+harm=auto hit I win combo with this character, ending Yagashura instantly, and it is fun.

    Still you'll play as a cleric for the whole BG:EE and a good part of SoA. And I've found that tedious as playing pure clerics is kinda boring IMHO. A character dualled at lvl 5-6 will be a lot more fun in BG:EE.
  • atcDaveatcDave Member Posts: 2,387
    This is an excellent combination. Although I am a fan of earlier dualing, like level five or seven. The cleric class adds some excellent buffing spells and good starting hit points, and shield use. But if you wait too long to dual you end up wasting most of the game without those cleric abilities (except the hit points). I think this is a mistake a lot of people make with dualing, your character ends up being really capable only very late in BG2. Do it early, and your party will have access to all that extra healing and buffing for most of the series.
  • JaggedJagged Member Posts: 105
    edited April 2013
    Thanks for the info guys. Can I hit level 8 mage if I dual at cleric 7? Is there a benefit to dual at 5?

    Also, any advice on changing helm in the status page?
  • EudaemoniumEudaemonium Member Posts: 3,199
    Cleric 7 needs 55K and Mage 8 90K, so yes you can hit it in BG1 without a need to remove the XP cap. It will be late game, though, since you'll need 145K, which is only a bit shy of the 161K cap.
  • FinneousPJFinneousPJ Member Posts: 6,455
    Why not multi? I like the Gnome Cleric/Illusionist.
  • JaggedJagged Member Posts: 105
    The multi is always an interesting option. I don't like giving up those necro mage spells as a gnome though.

    Hmm, just something new to think about now.
  • FinneousPJFinneousPJ Member Posts: 6,455
    Is it to be your only mage?
  • JaggedJagged Member Posts: 105
    No, I'll have Neera as well.
  • smeagolheartsmeagolheart Member Posts: 7,963
    FinneousPJ said:

    Why not multi? I like the Gnome Cleric/Illusionist.

    image
  • FinneousPJFinneousPJ Member Posts: 6,455
    Neera can cast necro spells for you ;)

    The Gnome finishes BGEE with 20 Int, 20 Wis at level 7/7 which is quite nice.
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