BG1EE v1.12 - Which class is strong not only in BG1EE but on into the BG2EE import play through?

zozolau

Trying to decide what to roll that will not only be fun butt kicking for goodness in the v1.2 BG1EE play through but on into an import for the soon to be released BG2EE SoA & ToB. I'm not power gaming, but I want to pick a class that owns leading to the most butt kicking early on in BG1EE and still come out on top through the import into BG2EE Shadows of Amn(my favorite part of the series to play) and even on into ToB. Thanks for your time

jackjack

You might enjoy playing a Blade. It can be tough going at first, though.

zozolau

jackjack said:

You might enjoy playing a Blade. It can be tough going at first, though.

I hear that, for that I think it's not for me. BG1 being the one I never completed but started many play through's - I don't think I can handle another arduous slow start from a fresh roll.

nano

Archer? It kicks incredible amounts of ass in BG1, kicks ass in SoA, falls off a bit in ToB but is still useful. I think it's likely that BG2EE provides some additional ranged weapons so late game power might not even be a concern. No guarantees though.

badbromance

Any Paladin kit including the Blackguard

enqenq

Berserker shines in BG1 where you have abysmal saving throws, and later on it's still a solid fighter kit.

jackjack

Not to mention a great candidate for dual-classing.

ryuken87

nano said:

Archer? It kicks incredible amounts of ass in BG1, kicks ass in SoA, falls off a bit in ToB but is still useful. I think it's likely that BG2EE provides some additional ranged weapons so late game power might not even be a concern. No guarantees though.

It's not that the Archer lacks power at all in ToB, it still hits very hard and with the buff to GM it gains more power (and hopefully the damage bonus to Arrows+1, +2 etc. will still be there too). Hopefully they will add some +3 ammo to SoA and it'll be great.

Corvino

For something that is generally tough, useful and avoids downtime I'd suggest either a Gnome Fighter/Illusionist, Dwarf Fighter/Cleric or Human Cavalier.

All 3 can be great tanks right from the start (even the F/I can wear heavy armour and still has decent HP) which can be good given the relative gear-dependence of NPC tanks. The F/I becomes practically unhittable by the end of BG1, the F/C can cast cleric roid spells and the Cavalier gets a bunch of useful immunities and access to cleric buffs in BG2. Both Multiclasses also benefit from shorty saves.

Zarakinthish

I'd say it depends on what role you want to play in the party. However, here are some ideas. If you want to be the tank of the party, you can't go wrong with a fighter/cleric (or ranger/cleric if you don't mind a clearly broken, overpowered class). If you'd rather stay in back and cast spells, cleric/mage is a great pick, especially later on when you can mix cleric spells in to contingencies and spell triggers.

elminster

Barbarian is always a good choice.

Kaltzor

Any of the warrior or fighter (whichever term you wish to use) classes is a decent choice... They usually don't change in terms of power much throughout it all...

They will either start out weak and be not too good at all... or start great and be like that most of the way, the only real exceptions in fights are pretty much Sarevok and some of the ToB bosses...

jamesker

A Dwarven Defender is as hard as nails with defensive stance and doesn't really take a big hit to offence unless if you use axes and warhammers. If this is your charname I can see him needing something special to dislodge him

Sceptenar

I've always enjoyed playing an Inquisitor paladin, their immunity to hold and charm are very useful, but their dispel magic and true seeing available from level 1 makes the kit incredible.

onan

A F/T has a somewhat hard time the first 2 levels or so in BGEE but then it gets almost cheesy. In late SOA and TOB he is pure cheese with both thief and fighter HLAs.

CutlassJack

Swashbuckler is my usual answer when it comes to Buttkicking for Goodness and Plunder.

Eudaemonium

I'll echo @onan. A F/T (or F>T, but they have different strengths and weaknesses). They are generally pretty powerful all the way through the saga, and while they obviously lack the late-game world-shattering power of mages, they aren't especially weak. Both multis and early (7 or 9) duals can end up with 5 APR by dual-wielding with a speed weapon and the gauntlets of ex.spec. And both get access to UAI, which opens up large realms of late-game options in terms of OTT equipment combinations.

meagloth

Sorcerers are really awesome if you pick the right spells. Not as squishy as a normal Mage because they don't need as much wis. or int. don't really get going till lvl 5 or 6 though, so maybe not for you.

Madhax

I can only speak theoretically to its effectiveness in SoA/ToB, but the Dragon Disciple sorcerer with high melee stats is loads of fun. By the end of BG1 you can have 19 STR, 20 DEX, and 16+ CON easily. This makes him a solid frontliner with a powerful staff and archmagi robes plus stoneskin/fireshield/mirror image etc. That, plus the slightly-less-diverse usual slew of sorcerer spells, is a sweet setup.

I currently have a Neutral Good Dragon Disciple ready to import to SoA, planning on getting Rasaad . Rasaad with his Sun Soul Monk ability and a fire resistance ring could easily get 90-100% Fire Resistance, and since my PC will easily surpass the 100% level between Fireshield and natural bonuses, they both can sit in the front lines while my PC and Neera drop fireballs into the melee. Should be fun =D

Flashburn

Fighter/Thief
Dwarven Defender
Ranger, Paladin
Fighter/Cleric
Any class the shorty-races can take with high CON.

Millardkillmoore

Half-orc Barbarian. It's absolutely outstanding in BG1, excellent in BG2, and is arguably the best pure warrior in ToB.

BG1: You're tough enough not to get one-shotted in early BG1. The lack of grandmastery isn't a problem since fighters won't get that until the end of the game, if at all. You also have high enough strength to actually hit enemies regularly and can rush enemy archers with your superior speed. Your strength, especially while raging, allows you to be the one to one-shot enemies for once. You're immune to just about everything while raging, making your low level character's lousy saving throws irrelevant and allowing you to cut mages to shreds. With the tome of constitution your Half-Orc will even begin regenerating health.

BG2: The lack of grandmastery and heavy armor mean that the Barbarian falls a bit behind the Berserker here, but it's still very close and the Barbarian is 100% viable.

TOB: Greater Whirlwind Attack means you'll be attacking 10 times/round anyway, so Grandmastery's main advantage disappears. AC is mostly pointless as everyone hits you anyway, so the lack of heavy armor is also no big deal. Plus the White Dragon armor is amazing and usable by Barbarians. Meanwhile, your greater HP and damage resistance make you far more durable than anyone else. The Barbarian, never far behind the Berserker in BG2, overtakes it again. Your only competitors for "Best pure warrior" at this point are the Monk and Inquisitor classes.

moody_mage

Horc Fighter/Cleric. Solid all the way through. Plus you can also attain 20 CON in BG1 so insta-regen when travelling or resting.

havlya

Bezerker/druid dual at lvl 6 wery fun
Priest of Lathander is one most fun caster cleric in the game.

Arktosa

Cleric/Mage for having both spell casting ability with the flail of ages in tob is one of the best thing ever imaginated by mankind

Eudaemonium

havlya said:

Bezerker/druid dual at lvl 6 wery fun
Priest of Lathander is one most fun caster cleric in the game.

Berserker/Druid is probably better to do at 7 for the whole saga, though, due to the extra 1/2 apr.

sunset00

@zozolau
i agree a bard blade can be very tedious to play in early BG1(ee)! ..you must really know what you are doing with it, and almost (if not literally!) from the start.. (especially with the prof.points too..very rare - only 2 at start, and 4 at lvl8 in BG1(ee) max possible..and one of his real deadly tricks is dual handling..let you even less points for real weapons in bg1, even if only ** in DH for bg1 seems to be all in all enough).. and even in BG2, must really know what you do with it (becomes really fun at lv12+ though.. imo) ).

NOW... a very similar play style/fun (MAGIC+FIGHTS) can be a 'simple' Fighter/Mage ! : especially an ELF F/M imo (+1 bow/swords bonuses, +elven natural resists too!) ; the F/M is immediately easier to play than a Blade, stronger too (fighter/mage lv1>>blade lv1, can start with ST18/xx _and_ DEX19(elf)!, even with starting CONST17 max(elf) will have more HPs than blades (F!), can get 2 spells directly from lv1 -ex:familiar, VERY useful at low lvls and..much less easy to find the scroll early for blades!..- more prof.points, will get a natural F speed bonus at lv7, etc). In BG2, the F/M can reach even higher spells lvls than the blades (blades)lv6 max), the thac0 from the F part will be 'slightly' higher too, etc! The blades of course will have their specificities too at high levels (quickest levelling= sup damages with some spells /lvls, deadly high lvl song possible (for the party), deadly time and other traps with the special bards higher abilities (>lv20~), and of course the always as deadly offensive/defensive spins boosts...but a F/M will be always more straightforward/easier to play imo..even if the final xp is divided /2 (thac0+spell possibilities will always be slightly higher!).

At the end of BG1EE (161000xp max without xp cap remover) :
-- blade = lvl10 max (base thac0.16 - mine reached 10/14 in dual hand ** with gears/stats..not fab but largely enough for bg1ee anyway it seemed / mage spells up to +1 lvl4 max -- with xp cap remover lv11 possible=>thac0.15 ok - mine was 9/13 with 2H..&bows even with no prof.pts were working great (+arrows..)!).
-- F/M (elf!) = lvl7/7 (base thac0.14 / mage spells up to +1 lv4 max too - but +1 lv1 spell for now^ - with xp cap remover can very easily reach lvl 8/8 btw=>thac0.13 / 2 lvl4 spells..)

At the end of BG2 standard (2950000xp / and with bg2ee 8000000, no need xp cap remover=ToB^) :
- blade = lvl23 (base thac0.10=max cap reached / max lvl6 spells reached(here=3) )
- F/M = lvl13/13(*) (base thac0.8 / lvl6 spells reached (here=2)..but will always progress further later^(**) )
(*) at the end of the story in bg2ee should certainly be more like 14/14 too (no cap: thac0.7/+1spell lvl7)^..for the blade lvl24/25 maybe..about same, +more first epic lvls abilities coming maybe^).
(**) at the max 8000000; blade lvl40max..max base thac0.10 same / lvl6 spells always max (5) .. but F/M can be THEN up tp lvl24/20 (thac0.0 / 4 lv6 spells.. but also with spells up to lvl7/8/9 ok (3/3/2 max)!..).

.. and another one with that playstyle (MAGIC+FIGHTs) would also be the kensai/mage (dual class here) ; but that one, even more tricky than the blade in early lvls (dual class lvl to choose very well..and for the ultimate K/M in BG2/ToB..means kanzai in all BG1ee.. needless to say, must be motivated and know perfectly what we do too then.. even more tricky than a blade then..^ ..but at the end, arguably the most deadly magic/fighter of all.. ). !

So, for the fun/simplicity, i would say F/M (elf!) > blade >> kenzai(/mage later) ! (and for the powerbuilds aka even soloing, the last 2 are well known at the highest levels too of course.. but obvioulsy much more tricky/weird to play at low lvls with those ones..).. not even sure a pure kenzai could finish bg1ee alone btw (for the ultimate BG2/ToB K/M!) .. before dualing (with the Blade or F/M i think that's possible with cap remover, though much tougher for the early blades^.. but the kanzai alone before bg2?.. ~~?!) !.. *;/

Personnally, my very first BG1 char was precisely a F/M (elf) ).. and i had a great time with it -ideal to discover many aspects of the game magic+fights/weapons slowly too!- (i even remember it now lol) )... now, the problem was that i discovered the Blades only with the original BG2 (not even talking about the kensai kit-->kanzai/mage^).. when not available at the time in BG1!^... so i had no more time to go on with my first char in BG2 (F/M)...and never had the time later to try back a full blade directly from BG1 ( with a Tutu for exemple)...why i was so 'happy' with bg1ee so many years later..needless to say i can't wait BG2ee to test my new blade with the import now.. i have the feeling that one will be far superior/smoother to play than my very first BG2 one too (knowing a few more Blades special tricks now..from start) ), hehe..


nb;
http://playithardcore.com/pihwiki/index.php?title=Baldur's_Gate:_Progression_Charts
nb2;
http://forum.baldursgate.com/discussion/16497/ee-keeper-updated-to-v1-0-2/p1
the new EE Keeper is really useful too, when hesitating in the beginnings!^ (ex /prof.points, etc!)..to be able to correct a few early mistakes or regretted things after /lv up hesitations..
nb3;
http://forum.baldursgate.com/discussion/10212/a-simple-xp-cap-remover/p1 works great for bg1ee .. if ever wanted at the end, to eventually see how far your charname can go..could be especially nice for F/M last 8/8 imo..just a very little above the usual 161000xp cap, damn..(or blade lv11 reachable too..got it here). ..even for starting in bg2ee with 161000xp again, will see.. nice for the end of bg1ee..not even a real cheat as that's just the normal xp you got with all the regular quests/kills..if you wish) ..and EEKeeper could again be used to correct that imo, in early bg2ee, if wished to keep it too imo..

hth)

zerckan

Inquisitor if you won't add Keldorn in BG2

ajwz

Undead Hunter

FinneousPJ

If you prefer single class I'd have to echo the suggestions for any paladin kit or barbarian.

Edwin

gnomish fighter/thief/cleric/mage

Duron

In personal retrospect Sorcerer has quite solid amount of power in BG1EE, nothing beats shitload of magic missiles you have since start. Yes first two levels are frustrating but after that there is no problem, specially once you learn fireball and hand meteors in combination with missiles and all the survival/protection spells you really shouldn't have a problem.
In BG2, a high lvl sorcerer just goes through things (and lategame BG1).