Tweaking the Thieves (Shadowdancer, Assassin, Bounty Hunter, and Thief)
Dee
Member Posts: 10,447
The v1.2.0 patch modifies the Shadowdancer kit rather significantly; as a result, there has been some discussion about whether we've gone from one end of the spectrum (too powerful) to the other (too weak). I'm reserving judgment, but in an effort to get a little more information, I've made this little override pack. The pack affects the Thief, as well as the Shadowdancer, Assassin, and Bounty Hunter kits.
Just extract to your override. The changes will only work with v1.2 or later.
Thief:
All I've done is applied an additional multiplier boost at level 17. The Bounty Hunter follows the same progression.
The Shadowdancer now follows the same progression as the Thief, but at -1 multiplier.
The Assassin now follows the same progression as the Thief, but at +1 multiplier. Because this makes the Assassin a bit of a power house at level 1, the Poison Weapon ability has been moved from level 1 to level 7.
Just extract to your override. The changes will only work with v1.2 or later.
Thief:
All I've done is applied an additional multiplier boost at level 17. The Bounty Hunter follows the same progression.
Backstab progression changed:Shadowdancer:
- Level 1-4: x2
- Level 5-8: x3
- Level 9-12: x4
- Level 13-16: x5
- Level 17+: x6
The Shadowdancer now follows the same progression as the Thief, but at -1 multiplier.
Backstab progression changed:Assassin:
- Level 1-4: x1
- Level 5-8: x2
- Level 9-12: x3
- Level 13-16: x4
- Level 17+: x5
The Assassin now follows the same progression as the Thief, but at +1 multiplier. Because this makes the Assassin a bit of a power house at level 1, the Poison Weapon ability has been moved from level 1 to level 7.
Backstab progression changed:(obligatory tagging for @Infiltrator, @enneract, and @Aranthys)
- Level 1-4: x3
- Level 5-8: x4
- Level 9-12: x5
- Level 13-16: x6
- Level 17+: x7
Poison Weapon received at level 7 instead of level 1 (starts at level 7 with one use)
Post edited by Dee on
14
Comments
That said, getting x7 at level 17 might balance things out seeing as it is actually still useful at that point.
I will try it out, for sure, and give more detailed feedback later.
The extended backstab progression for the Thief is a little beyond what PnP does.
It also has required minimum stats of 12 Strength, 12 Dex and 11 Int.
Assassin's x7 bonus is mostly worthless in TOB, and this shifts it to an earlier part of the game where it is still useful.
It is also much more logical and consistent.
@Dee, Here is a WeiDu version. The only liberty I took to regularize the poison weapon ability, granting it once at lvl 7, and once every 4 levels thereafter. Also updated descriptions.
First, you can go to the Record screen and look at the Statistics pane; your Backstab multiplier is listed in one of the first blocks.
The other way is to just try and backstab someone. If it says "Backstab Double Damage", the multiplier is being applied.
Bear in mind that you have to be standing behind someone and hidden or invisible in order to get the successful backstab.
You can also drop them into Documents\Baldur's Gate Enhanced Edition\override\ if that's simpler.
As for what will apply to existing characters... Kits that add *abilities* (THAC0/Damage bonuses, spells under the special abilities button, etc), only apply it once, and won't retroactively apply those bonuses. Backstab multiplier is special, though, and will apply to existing characters.
I know you folks generally didn't have a combat-focused role in mind for the shadowdancer, but I've always avoided playing thieves because - aside from that first backstab - they're just not very interesting or reliable in a fight. I know there's a lot more to BG than fighting, but having a thief that can disappear, damage, and disorient his foes in combat sounds a lot more fun than a weaker thief designed for scouting (which is what the unkitted thief already does and does well).
But that's just my preference. Thanks for providing this override pack so that those playing the beta can provide better feedback
i dont have an override in my documents location you told me about.
im using the beamdog client launcher...
yeah i cant find the beta installation....im on windows 7 64bit
can someone help me?
beamdog/games/00764/override....there was no override folder there so i created one and put the 2 files in and now its working...is it bad that i created an override folder?