Dual Class Question
Dragonfolk2000
Member Posts: 388
First Question: Is there a good reason to dual class out of a primary caster like a mage?
I thought there was one. I hate preparing identify spells so I thought that if I dualed out of mage or one of the mage kits early on it wouldn't hit my xp too hard but I'd be able to identify at least some of the items I would come across. That when I discovered that you can't identify items with spells if you are wearing armor. I suppose I could just remove my armor whenever I want to cast identify but other than that it seems rather unimportant for me to do so.
Second Question: Are there any mage only items that a fighter might find useful if they don't cast mage spells? What about cleric items? Druid?
I thought there was one. I hate preparing identify spells so I thought that if I dualed out of mage or one of the mage kits early on it wouldn't hit my xp too hard but I'd be able to identify at least some of the items I would come across. That when I discovered that you can't identify items with spells if you are wearing armor. I suppose I could just remove my armor whenever I want to cast identify but other than that it seems rather unimportant for me to do so.
Second Question: Are there any mage only items that a fighter might find useful if they don't cast mage spells? What about cleric items? Druid?
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Comments
Identify is easily replaced by a high lore count. A cleric/mage with high intelligence and wisdom should be able to identify most items simply by clicking on them, as will a bard. A regular mage or cleric has a shot, too.
2. For Mages, not... off the top of my head. Dak'kon's Zerth Blade in BG2 is potentially acquired before other similarly powerful swords if you scrimp and save, but with a few levels from start you can get Celestial Fury instead. Some casting armor is quite powerful, but none are better than top-tier heavy armor or even light armor.
Cleric kits might have a few interesting toys to play around with after dualling to fighter. You could potentially get Boon of Lathander as a Lathander cleric, then dual to fighter and use it as a combat boost.
2. Certain wands maybe (wand of cloudkill). Staff of the Magi maybe for its spell trap.
Blade vs. Fighter -> Mage
Blade gets--
-Higher spell level (relevant for stuff like Chromatic Orb, Magic Missile, Fireball, etc.)
-Faster access to spells early in the saga
-Offensive Spin
-Defensive Spin which, I think, allows them to reach the lowest possible AC in the game, along with defensive mage spells for sweet tanking
-Bardic abilities: lore, song, pickpocketing. None great.
-Those sweet, sweet rogue HLAs.
Fighter->Mage gets--
-Grandmastery and natural fighter APR bonuses for a higher average APR
-Access to the highest level mage spells, while bards cap at level 6 spells
-Mage HLAs, granting even better spells
-More HP
-More spells per day
In practice, I'd say it's more of a stylistic choice than a clear power-level decision. Note that the fighter->mage dual can pick a fighter kit, with Kensai and Berserker both having solid upsides in the build.
They have no dual class downtime, get access to mage and fighter HLAs and get full fighter +APR up to level 13, as well as fighter THAC0 progression. On the downside they level slowly, have lower caster level and cannot get grandmastery.
In BG2, dualing from a low to mid level Cleric will make a fighter with several self-buffs. Of particular interest are Cleric of Lathander (can buff self with +1 APR) and Cleric of Talos (can immune self to missiles, fire, lighting, cold); Cleric of Helm is okay, too, given how powerful True Sight is.
Generally speaking, though, it is usually better to dual *into* a caster, especially if you are a fighter. The reason is simple: fighters do not gain much from levels higher than 13. Their bonus HP stops with level 9, and they gain +1/2 APR at levels 7 and 13 respectively. Beyond that, there is little gain per level outside of some minor HP/THAC0. Casters on the other hand continue to gain spell levels and uses all the way up to their 30s, and their spells also become more and more powerful (in many cases anyway) up to level 20.
2. If you are a Kensai (can't use armor) and dual into a mage, you *will* be able to use Mage Robes. There is also the previously mentioned Dakkon's Zerth Blade, a katana that enhances your spellcasting. Beyond that, I do not believe there are any items of particular use to the combination. Clerics don't have any, which is understandable given that they can already use the heaviest armor anyway; in fact, it's almost in reverse for them as the cleric part of the combination restricts what weapons you can use. Even if you are paired with a fighter class, you will not be able to use weapons forbidden to a cleric, i.e. all "sharp" weapons.
a mage lvl2>cleric gives you a cleric that can use wands and in bg2 wear the robes of vecna to vastly reduce casting times or cleric spells and use spell scrolls