Why don't you play as the Wizard Slayer kit in BG2?

Joey

Wondering if the restriction is simply too castrating for other players as it is for me.

Tome

I just find that there are so many different classes and kits, I have to be a little picky when it come to choosing them just so I can get the game finished. Wizard Slayer just seems relatively dull to play as, so it's never one of my first choices.

sarevok57

the first time I ever played bg2 I would make wizard slayers, I was so pumped at the idea of magic resistance, infact, I played wizard slayers for months before I started playing other classes

shawne

I tend to prefer the "simpler" classes - Fighters over Paladins, Sorcerers over Mages, Rogues over Shadowdancers, etc. Wizard Slayer seems unnecessarily complicated by comparison.

nano

I will, eventually...

I haven't yet because I find pure fighters kind of boring and the best dual class options (thief and mage) seem cheesy (thief because it completely eliminates the hard part of WS, and mage for obvious reasons). WS/cleric could be fun now that I think about it.

TheElf

Not quite awesome, but I've played one once when I was new to BG2. They're maybe the best front liner in the game when you haven't figured out how to bring down protection spells, as was the case for me.

Eudaemonium

I was never really interested in it. Its just nota type of class that appeals to me conceptually. Then I also heard that it was terrible, so I have even less desire to try it out.

Lord_Tansheron

You're missing the most important option:

"Wizard Slayers are inherently flawed because any mage you are actually hitting is about to die anyway."

Gear restrictions or not, that fact alone is enough for me to completely disqualify Wizard Slayers from my considerations. When was the last time you got a bunch of hits in on a mage with your fighter, and the mage actually lived to talk about it?

Mornmagor

^ Not only that, but some mage buffs require Breach to get rid of, which the WS does not have.

So, what kind of wizard slayer is he?

Sceptenar

Baby needs his bling.

nano

I personally think the Wizard Slayer should be able to ignore magical defenses at a high enough level, but in return can't use anything magic at all. No special exceptions for weapons and armor, just mano-a-mano with an ordinary sword.

Mathsorcerer

I am playing a wizard slayer right now and the character is working out nicely. I am considering upgrading the "miscast magic on hit" to include "remove combat/specific protections" when BG2EE becomes available--too many foes with auto-stoneskin and auto-PfMW, which is cheesier than the worst muchkin/Monty Haul gamer.

SharGuidesMyHand

The downsides simply outweigh the benefits IMO.

Incidentally, does the slayer's spell-failure-per-hit apply to hits with any weapon, or only melee? (Either way wouldn't change my opinion however.)

Joey

Lord_Tansheron said:

You're missing the most important option:

"Wizard Slayers are inherently flawed because any mage you are actually hitting is about to die anyway."

Gear restrictions or not, that fact alone is enough for me to completely disqualify Wizard Slayers from my considerations. When was the last time you got a bunch of hits in on a mage with your fighter, and the mage actually lived to talk about it?

I don't think walking up to a mage and bashing him with a fighter takes up a lot of my BG playing time. The benefits of Magic Resistance is that the Wizard Slayer can shrug off the damage enemy spellcasters do, meaning I don't have to worry about him being held or confused or some other nasty effect. This quality is probably the wizard slayer's biggest advantage to me, since the dispel-on-hit is useless.

However since this means sacrificing a slew of powerful items - many of which grant Magic Resistance - it simply isn't worth it.

nano

Joey said:

I don't think walking up to a mage and bashing him with a fighter takes up a lot of my BG playing time.

That's kind of his point, no? If most of the time you spend fighting a mage was spent actually hitting him, then WS would be great. But as it is, you can't even hit him in the first place so the WS's main skill goes unused. That's the main problem with the kit. Giving up magical items would be perfectly fine if you could actually bring this skill to bear, by allowing them to bypass protections or some other solution.

Joey

You probably shouldn't have just ignored the rest of my post where I explicitly stated what was the main advantage of the Wizard Slayer for me.

An anti-magic warrior doesn't need some dispel-on-hit nonsense, he needs buckets of Magic Resistance.

etagloc

In AD&D you get no options to customize your hero while you level, you can only do that with items.
1- the class is bad
2- the class is boring

in theory its kinda cool. But its not

Alexisisinneed

I did a run through with a Wizard Slayer. He worked well enough for a fighter. But there are better classes out there, but she shouldn't be ignored ether. All depends on your style of play.

nano

Joey said:

You probably shouldn't have just ignored the rest of my post where I explicitly stated what was the main advantage of the Wizard Slayer for me.

An anti-magic warrior doesn't need some dispel-on-hit nonsense, he needs buckets of Magic Resistance.

Protecting yourself from magic isn't too hard, even with a non wizard slayer. What kinds of things can enemy mages do to you? Damage - cloak of mirroring, protection from x. Confusion - chaotic commands. Hold - free action. If you want straight magic resistance, there's items for that. Monks get even more than a wizard slayer. Casters can turn into a mustard jelly. A certain sexy elf comes with her own magic resistance.

The WS's magic resistance is a nice side benefit, but the hard part about fighting mages is breaking through their defenses and being a WS doesn't do anything to make it easier.

BackgroundCharacter

I would really like to, but I can't live without equipping almost everything

I can't play Kensai either

badbromance

If I knew how to mod I would set the MR to 15% at first level and 2% every level (to cap out somewhere between 50-80%) and I think that would be worth the draw back. Maybe some combat protection removal spells as innate abilities as it level would be ok?

Mathsorcerer

@badbromance just edit spcl131.spl and you can set the MR to whatever you want, but I wouldn't set it higher than 3 per level for balance. The innate attack ability is spcl133.spl and the casting failure percentage is in spcl132.

Schneidend

Needs more magic resistance to make up for the loss of items, certainly.

meagloth

This can't be right. Where is my "because it's soopid" button?
And really. They should stop trying to slay me. I'm the good guy here.

deltago

Inquisitor

Anaximander

I thought it was ok, ... 13 wizard slayer with two handed swords dualed to thief ... use any item with carsomyr is pretty funny ... find it kind of annoying that you have to re-equip items to get your magic resistance to 100%(human flesh armor is key ) ... as good as it sounds you are still vulnerable to all sorts of stuff.

KidCarnival

BackgroundCharacter said:

I would really like to, but I can't live without equipping almost everything

I can't play Kensai either

This, and pure fighters just don't appeal to me. It's a one trick pony, gameplay-wise - hit stuff with weapon, no shiny special buttons.

It already bothers me that there is (except in BP) nothing I can put on a mage's head or off hand. I'd take a decorate item with zero effects, just let me fill that empty slot.

Silverstar

I think playing fighters are snorefests.

CutlassJack

Because they aren't Swashbucklers.

zerckan

Because it's not a Wizard Slayer. It's a Fighter who can't use magical items.
I always say the real wizard slayer is the Inquisitor.
I play that instead.

SwordsNotWords

I was considering doing a role-play run where Charname grows up in Candlekeep reading of wizard slayers blah blah blah and wants to be a hero like them, only to discover the depth of magic on his journey, probably after meeting Irenicus, and dualing into a mage. Anyone ever done anything like this? Does it work? Can I use robes etc?