She might not be proficient with bows when you get her? look at the monks starting profs... Katana seems both cruel and not terribly intuitive, since calimshan isn't karatur. But note the lack of ranged. Xzar gets to throw daggers at least.
Apparently Trent let it slip at Penny Arcade Expo that her class is vanilla Thief. Human thief sounds a bit bland to me, lets keep our fingers crossed that there is something interesting about her.
I'd be surprised if that were the case; he probably meant that she was single-class. I wouldn't be that upset, although as others have been saying an Assassin or Shadowdancer would be real neat.
Dual-classing would be completely pointless for the party she was designed to fit into, though: there's no need for another fighter if you already have Dorn and Korgan, or another cleric if you have Viconia. And if you make her a mage... you might as well have taken Imoen with you, then.
But you never have to dual-class. It's simply an option.
But you never have to dual-class. It's simply an option.
Of course, but conventional wisdom dictates that if you're dual-classing a character, it's because you want them to cover an existing deficiency in your party - the reason everyone always made Imoen a mage back in Ye Olde Days was because Good parties couldn't get arcane spellcasters unless they either rescued Dynaheir from the gnolls or went down into the mines for Xan. (And even then, Imoen would still have an edge in versatility.)
With Hexxat, the whole reason she was created in the first place was because Team Evil needed someone to fill that particular role; they already have melee, arcane and divine functions covered. Let's say you dual her into a fighter - she'll immediately be third place after Dorn and Korgan. You could make her a mage, but she couldn't keep up with Edwin or Neera. And while having a backup cleric is nice, Viconia comes with certain advantages that make her the best person for the job.
But you never have to dual-class. It's simply an option.
Of course, but conventional wisdom dictates that if you're dual-classing a character, it's because you want them to cover an existing deficiency in your party - the reason everyone always made Imoen a mage back in Ye Olde Days was because Good parties couldn't get arcane spellcasters unless they either rescued Dynaheir from the gnolls or went down into the mines for Xan. (And even then, Imoen would still have an edge in versatility.)
With Hexxat, the whole reason she was created in the first place was because Team Evil needed someone to fill that particular role; they already have melee, arcane and divine functions covered. Let's say you dual her into a fighter - she'll immediately be third place after Dorn and Korgan. You could make her a mage, but she couldn't keep up with Edwin or Neera. And while having a backup cleric is nice, Viconia comes with certain advantages that make her the best person for the job.
Is the character's name really "Hexxat"? Ick.
Anyhow, do we know for certain that Hexxat will be evil? (I'd prefer if she were some version of neutral, like Neera, myself.)
If evil, the option to dual class means that the PC won't be *forced* to pick Viconia (if Hexxat can dual to cleric), or Korgan (if dual-able to fighter), etc. Evil-leaning parties will have more options as to their composition if dual-classing is an option. And you can still leave her as a thief, if that's your preference.
If evil, the option to dual class means that the PC won't be *forced* to pick Viconia (if Hexxat can dual to cleric), or Korgan (if dual-able to fighter), etc. Evil-leaning parties will have more options as to their composition if dual-classing is an option. And you can still leave her as a thief, if that's your preference.
Not really - bear in mind that in the original BG2, there were only three Evil NPCs; BG2:EE will have five, which finally allows a full and balanced party (Blackguard/Berserker/Thief/Cleric/Conjurer). If you make Hexxat a Cleric in order to skip Viconia, you'll end up with a smaller party and an inferior cleric (since Viconia has inherent advantages Hexxat can never achieve).
Obviously dual-classing is always optional, I'm just saying that in this particular case, with this particular character, it's rather pointless. Even if you're using a mixed-alignment party, she can't beat other NPCs in their own classes - you'd basically be crippling her for no effective reason.
@shawne You're making assumptions that she doesn't have her own set of rule-breaking special abilities, and doesn't have ridiculous stats (cough cough Dorn cough).
Even making an inferior thief->cleric or thief->mage could fill a gap in someone's ideal party lineup, so depending on you CHARNAME's class she might be useful. Also, single class thieves not exactly in demand through TOB due to their lack of combat utility, so having a second skillset would add to her usefulness.
Having committed to this viewpoint and given the fact that I'm absolutely never right about these things, I can now confirm that the new female thief cannot dual class.
@Corvino: I'm actually expecting that she will have some form of exceptional talent, but IMO that's all the more reason to keep her as she is. And single-class thieves in TOB can function perfectly well as archers, so it's not like she'd be useless.
In a broader sense, I get the feeling that NPCs just aren't meant to be dual-classed in BG2: as far as I know, the only party member you can actually do that to is Sarevok, and by the time you get him it's really inadvisable to reset him to level 1...
BG2 does have a lot of pre-dualled characters though: Imoen, Nalia, Anomen. I think Yoshimo can be dualled to a fighter as well, but we all know how that works out long-term.
Arguably, early in BG2 is the best time to dual either your main or an NPC as you get enough XP thrown at you in the form of simple quests and scroll learning to keep downtime minimal.
Oh man. Evil parties are going to be a real hoot in Baldur's Gate II. Probably going to experiment with playing a Neutral Evil Bard or some such. Only decision that's tough for me is whether to never pick up Korgan or
bring him along until ToB and boot his annoying ass out for Sarevok.
@Quartz here's a roleplaying challenge - see if you can roleplay through BG2 & TOB with your PC as Eldoth Kron, complete with portrait, soundset and stats.
Nah, just kidding. You'd have to be some kind of masochist to try that, and your monitor would run the risk of getting punched frequently. Eldoth, he's as bad as Anomen, what a prat.
Obviously dual-classing is always optional, I'm just saying that in this particular case, with this particular character, it's rather pointless. Even if you're using a mixed-alignment party, she can't beat other NPCs in their own classes - you'd basically be crippling her for no effective reason.
Perhaps 'pointless' from your point of view. Other players might simply want a different character for a change, even if she is not the 'optimal' one. And depending on when you dual her, she could still be a better thief (in the long run) than Imoen or Nalia.
@Quartz here's a roleplaying challenge - see if you can roleplay through BG2 & TOB with your PC as Eldoth Kron, complete with portrait, soundset and stats.
Nah, just kidding. You'd have to be some kind of masochist to try that, and your monitor would run the risk of getting punched frequently. Eldoth, he's as bad as Anomen, what a prat.
@Corvino It's not a bad idea to be honest. I would do that, except it'd be awkward; he has that typical evil personality (he shares this with Edwin) of being pretty desperate and yet acting like he's above everyone else. This would really conflict with being a Bhaalspawn godling, considering at that point he just IS actually above everyone else. It'd be difficult to role-play properly.
I'll probably use his portrait regardless. It doesn't exactly scream Neutral Good or Lawful Neutral Bard. :P
Obviously dual-classing is always optional, I'm just saying that in this particular case, with this particular character, it's rather pointless. Even if you're using a mixed-alignment party, she can't beat other NPCs in their own classes - you'd basically be crippling her for no effective reason.
Perhaps 'pointless' from your point of view. Other players might simply want a different character for a change, even if she is not the 'optimal' one. And depending on when you dual her, she could still be a better thief (in the long run) than Imoen or Nalia.
This. Dual-classing Yoshimo to Fighter is an odd concept, but it's not a totally awful idea. I've been known to use it on occasion.
Evil? Her name is friggin' *Hexxat*. She has the moniker of a saturday-morning cartoon villain.
I'm really hoping that 'Hexxat' is simply a placeholder name. It's quite horrible, evil or not.
I'm hoping so too. Considering they haven't actually unveiled her in the same way Dorn, Neera, and Rasaad were unveiled, the concept of her name changing is not outlandish.
Just a thought about her name. Perhaps it's pronounced as "Hez-ought" instead of "Hecks-at". It still doesn't sound very feminine though so I'll hope like everybody else that it's a placeholder to prevent some kind of spoiler.
About dualling her to a mage ; your all forgetting that there is 1 item in the whole game that can make a thief mage dual class viable.
Aslyferund Elven Chain +5 AC 0 Grants complete immunity to all normal weapons Can cast mage spells and use thief skills while worn
Bring Bladeslinger Chain +4, a Protection From Normal Weapons Scroll, & 40000 gold to Cespanar in the Pocket Plane.
You can easily snatch an elvin chain mail from the trademeet quest involving the dualling nobles as a holdover until ToB. I believe that Aran Linvail also has a +2 elvin chain mail that you can obtain if you side with Bhodi. Having a pure mage/sorceror with the robes of Vecna and a multi or dual class mage wearing Aslyferund Elven Chain +5 has always been my preferred party setup.
Just a thought about her name. Perhaps it's pronounced as "Hez-ought" instead of "Hecks-at". It still doesn't sound very feminine though so I'll hope like everybody else that it's a placeholder to prevent some kind of spoiler.
About dualling her to a mage ; your all forgetting that there is 1 item in the whole game that can make a thief mage dual class viable.
Aslyferund Elven Chain +5 AC 0 Grants complete immunity to all normal weapons Can cast mage spells and use thief skills while worn
Bring Bladeslinger Chain +4, a Protection From Normal Weapons Scroll, & 40000 gold to Cespanar in the Pocket Plane.
You can easily snatch an elvin chain mail from the trademeet quest involving the dualling nobles as a holdover until ToB. I believe that Aran Linvail also has a +2 elvin chain mail that you can obtain if you side with Bhodi. Having a pure mage/sorceror with the robes of Vecna and a multi or dual class mage wearing Aslyferund Elven Chain +5 has always been my preferred party setup.
I think everyone was just snarking about a Thief>Mage dual because the only other Thieves in BG2 are also Thief>Mage duals (and a Multi).
Thief/mages don't need Aslyferund elven chain to be viable, they can get away with a normal mage robe, archmage robe or elven chain. If they're stood at the back with stoneskin/mirror image they usually don't get hit anyway. It is a nice addition though, and usually goes to Jan in my TOB playthroughs.
Take Korgan with you in SoA, then sacrifice him during the Hell Trials and replace him with Sarevok.
Korgan is too good (in be evil and strong) to be (see spoiler), besides i would love to choose which NPC is kidnapped there, but unfortunally it's kinda of random i believe. Sometimes, even for an evil person a bit of self sacrifice can bring better fruits in the future and sacrifice Edwin for example, can be a bit of a very bad trade.
Comments
With Hexxat, the whole reason she was created in the first place was because Team Evil needed someone to fill that particular role; they already have melee, arcane and divine functions covered. Let's say you dual her into a fighter - she'll immediately be third place after Dorn and Korgan. You could make her a mage, but she couldn't keep up with Edwin or Neera. And while having a backup cleric is nice, Viconia comes with certain advantages that make her the best person for the job.
Anyhow, do we know for certain that Hexxat will be evil? (I'd prefer if she were some version of neutral, like Neera, myself.)
If evil, the option to dual class means that the PC won't be *forced* to pick Viconia (if Hexxat can dual to cleric), or Korgan (if dual-able to fighter), etc. Evil-leaning parties will have more options as to their composition if dual-classing is an option. And you can still leave her as a thief, if that's your preference.
Obviously dual-classing is always optional, I'm just saying that in this particular case, with this particular character, it's rather pointless. Even if you're using a mixed-alignment party, she can't beat other NPCs in their own classes - you'd basically be crippling her for no effective reason.
Even making an inferior thief->cleric or thief->mage could fill a gap in someone's ideal party lineup, so depending on you CHARNAME's class she might be useful. Also, single class thieves not exactly in demand through TOB due to their lack of combat utility, so having a second skillset would add to her usefulness.
Having committed to this viewpoint and given the fact that I'm absolutely never right about these things, I can now confirm that the new female thief cannot dual class.
In a broader sense, I get the feeling that NPCs just aren't meant to be dual-classed in BG2: as far as I know, the only party member you can actually do that to is Sarevok, and by the time you get him it's really inadvisable to reset him to level 1...
Arguably, early in BG2 is the best time to dual either your main or an NPC as you get enough XP thrown at you in the form of simple quests and scroll learning to keep downtime minimal.
Nah, just kidding. You'd have to be some kind of masochist to try that, and your monitor would run the risk of getting punched frequently. Eldoth, he's as bad as Anomen, what a prat.
I'll probably use his portrait regardless. It doesn't exactly scream Neutral Good or Lawful Neutral Bard. :P Rofl I LOVE it. You are a genius and I'll probably do just this. This. Dual-classing Yoshimo to Fighter is an odd concept, but it's not a totally awful idea. I've been known to use it on occasion. I'm hoping so too. Considering they haven't actually unveiled her in the same way Dorn, Neera, and Rasaad were unveiled, the concept of her name changing is not outlandish.
Today is a good day.
While I sympathize with the folks who like those races, I, personally never use them. And disclude them from campaign settings I make.
About dualling her to a mage ; your all forgetting that there is 1 item in the whole game that can make a thief mage dual class viable.
Aslyferund Elven Chain +5
AC 0
Grants complete immunity to all normal weapons
Can cast mage spells and use thief skills while worn
Bring Bladeslinger Chain +4, a Protection From Normal Weapons Scroll, & 40000 gold to Cespanar in the Pocket Plane.
You can easily snatch an elvin chain mail from the trademeet quest involving the dualling nobles as a holdover until ToB. I believe that Aran Linvail also has a +2 elvin chain mail that you can obtain if you side with Bhodi. Having a pure mage/sorceror with the robes of Vecna and a multi or dual class mage wearing Aslyferund Elven Chain +5 has always been my preferred party setup.
Couldn't resist