Stalker -> Cleric Strategizing

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ZanathKariashi

Might as well. IH is worth the wait by itself, and 1 more level nets you an extra half-attack, and 14 cleric isn't hard at all to reach, though 13 ranger is kind of annoying.

Your other pips don't really matter since between clubs and QS all your bases are covered, could throw some extra points into flails for FoA once your BS modifier becomes useless.

*Improved Haste....easily one of the strongest spells in the game for a melee character to have. I mean literally..they could strip the BS and stealth bonus and the class would still be worth taking just for that.

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Lord_Tansheron

12+ seems beneficial for the special spells, or more like 13 for the extra +1/2 APR Rangers gain at that level. It will be a bit of work getting the levels back, though. The alternative would be lvl9, though that would come at the cost of the kit-iconic spells.

7, 9 and 13 are the usual breakpoints for dualing fighter-type characters (Rangers are fighter-type, as are Paladins and Barbarians). Which one you choose depends on several factors, and comes with several up- and downsides.

Your plan as a whole seems sound, though. Ranger->Cleric is a great divine caster, and being able to backstab adds some melee oomph as well. Both in BG1 and BG2 the single best backstabbing weapons are in fact Quarterstaves (Staff of Striking in BG1, Staff of the Ram in BG2), so you're good there. There is also a truly amazing Club in BG2 (Club of Detonation) which ranks quite highly on the overall 1h weapon damage list (3rd by most accounts).

Stealth shouldn't be a problem in BG2. You can find boots that enhance it very early in the game, and there is also an abundance of Potions of Invisibility that you can use in a pinch (or for mid-combat backstabs). I think Stalker->Cleric is a very fun, flexible, and reasonably powerful combination. It should work great!

Madhax

I'd definitely be tempted to hold out for level 13. That just seems like a devastating build, having x3 backstab, bonus mage spells, max APR, etc. before becoming a Cleric.

IkMarc

Well or you could dual at lvl3 and immediately become a divine spellcasting overlord badass omnipresent authority figure.

Madhax

@IkMarc At that point, shouldn't he just be a regular ranger -> Cleric? Level 3 stalkers won't have good-enough stealth, and not much of a backstab, and that armor restriction sticks around forever. A level 3 Ranger -> Cleric gets free dual-wield at the cost of a Cleric kit, which could be a solid trade.

Dragonfolk2000

My best advice is not to be a stalker.

IkMarc

Madhax said:

@IkMarc At that point, shouldn't he just be a regular ranger -> Cleric? Level 3 stalkers won't have good-enough stealth, and not much of a backstab, and that armor restriction sticks around forever. A level 3 Ranger -> Cleric gets free dual-wield at the cost of a Cleric kit, which could be a solid trade.

jup

Vakarian

I had been thinking about making a character like this as well, but I thought that you couldn't dual class from the Stalker kit (only vanilla ranger or beastmaster). Do you need to use EEkeeper to make this work?

Lord_Tansheron

I believe that Stalkers being unable to dual was something that was fixed with the EE (or a patch thereof). I think in BG2 it's available via a mod, and BG2:EE will have everything BG1:EE has so no problem there.

lamaros

If you are truly crazy you could do it at 17, for the extra spell slots, lower saves, lower THAC0, and 4x Backstab, but that would a long and lonely wait to get everything back. Plus by the time you get back the THAC0 difference is negligable, the spell slots are overflowing, and the saves are only marginally better.

So really you'd probably do it at level 13 at highest. And if you're doing it lower than 13 I think you're not really getting much value from being a stalker/fighter, and could have just gone Thief and dualed over at 5 or 9.

Lord_Tansheron

It really seems like 13 is the magic number. Losing your special spells is not really an option, or you could just be a regular ranger; that means lvl 12 at least. And while you're there, an extra level for +1/2 APR surely isn't too much of a stretch! Though I suppose you could sacrifice that for more dualing convenience and go at 12 if you feel burdened by it.

Kaltzor

I would go with Quarterstaff as the main weapon rather than Clubs... While dual wield is more a ranger thing than Two Handed, I think there are better Quartersteaves out than the clubs...

lamaros

Kaltzor said:

I would go with Quarterstaff as the main weapon rather than Clubs... While dual wield is more a ranger thing than Two Handed, I think there are better Quartersteaves out than the clubs...

Only use a QS when backstabbing, otherwise dual wield is the way to go.

I'd go * in Quarterstaves, ** in Warhammers (you can get a +2 and +1 earlyish), and *** in dual wield. Then put the extra four points you get before level 13 in * Staves, * two handed weapon style, and ** Flails. Then throw your cleric points in slings and then clubs.

ZanathKariashi

The Gnasher is an extremely nasty club in BG2 (easy to get as well), it's only +2, but that will work against 93% of enemies and is just devastatingly powerful due to being able to stack it's DoT effect, which is a 100% chance per hit with no save and if you can nail an enemy with it before PfMW goes up, it'll chew on them while they're otherwise protected.