Tank for my party

Aron740

Hey people,

I'm planning to stack up on some more save files before the launch of bg2ee and this time I wanted to make my character a big fat tank of steel and muscles.
So the question is: What race, class, weapons choice should I go for? My initial thoughts was to make a dwarven defender with axe and shield specialization but I have heard a lot about how shields are kind of useless in bg2(ee) and does the weapon choice even matter? Is there any item I really should seek out as early as possible to make the tank better?

All the help is welcome!

GemHound

Either go for a warrior-type half-orc, a warrior-type Dwarf, or a warrior-type elf.
half-orcs get bonus max strength, dwarves get bonus max constitution, and Elves get bonus max dexterity.

Basillicum

Static AC and HP isn't the only way to tank, so you could also consider a Fighter/Cleric or a Fighter/Mage.

Personally I have a Half-Orc Fighter/Cleric who generally withstands more ass-kicking than anyone else, while also dishing out more damage than both Dorn and Kagain. 20 STR and 20 CON is really neat. He uses flail and shield in BG1, but will probably go for war hammer in BG2.

velehal

The best tank is any mage combination, especially fighter/mage (dual or multi) or fighter/druid combination (I don´t count broken combination ranger/druid). Stone skin, Iron skin and PFMW are best defence. Better than any shields, plate mails etc.

Aristillius

If you want a steel and muscle type of character Id definately consider a dwarven defender, you can dual wield hammers and axes for instance (sounds bad-ass to me^^). Also, a barbarian can be fun too.

RazaDelrom

Though I cetainly had my mage tank with illusion and defence spells, I would actually recommend a dwarfen defender (high defence skill, dmg resistance, 1d12 hitpoints) or maybe a blade (=bard) with his defensive spin.
The Blade is a jack-in-all-trades, since you can combine arcane defencive magic, bard support and have the option of a hefty attack and an unparallelled defence with spells+defensive spin. No fighter can match that defence until the skill runs out.
So you have to choose wether you prefer a tank who doesn't need to rely on spells that much (Dwarfen Defender with a lot less micro management), or a Blade which which can have a lot of roles to play, even though he/she is much more relying on spells and his few skills in spinning.
edit:
You don't actually have to use a shield, even though it helps against feisty archers. Either go single or two weapon style with axe and or war hammer is the next thing I want to try out.

Corvino

Dwarves make tough tanks due to great saves in addition to HP and AC. They actually shrug off a lot of spells that might otherwise ruin your day. Dwarven Defender, Fighter/Cleric or any fighter kit will do the job. If you're okay with your "steel and muscles" character being about 5 feet tall, that is.

Gnomish Fighter/Illusionists are also worth considering. They also benefit from saves and stoneskin and mirror image, making them just about unhittable with a little preparation.

deltago

I'd do something new like the Dwarven Defender.

The thing with shields is that most just give a AC bonus. In the end of TOB, AC concerns go out the window. You never know what new shiny items are going to be added to BGII:EE though, so making one could be interesting. If not, dual wielding is always an option.

Weapons are all up in the air due to RP reasons, meta gaming and personal choice. With the DwD, Axes are your cliche ridden choice, however war hammers can be an option too as both allow 4 pips. You get a magical war hammer early in BG:EE and you have enough updatable choice in BG2 /w Hammers +1-3 all the way to the Crom Faeyr and Runehammer.

mjs

gnome cleric illusionist

c/i gives you a ridiculous number of ways to combine different tanking types

1. high hp: holy power/tenser's
2. saves: shorty saves, you got 'em!
3. Low AC: full plate, shields, buffs
3. DR%: armour of faith, wraith form (?), DoE flail
4. Damage Avoidance: mirror image, stone skin, PfMW etc

Corvino

As a side note: Never, ever, under any circumstances put points into sword-and-shield style. A minor bonus against missile weapons that you can overcome using raw AC and other items at about level 4 is never worth one of your rare and valuable proficiency points.

The only reason to even consider it is if you genuinely think that your Character would choose to do it for roleplaying reasons. And even then it's a poor decision compared to every other available choice.

Arktosa

I rather use a cavalier for a good alignment party. Specialised into sword and shield fighting with long sword. At least, he gets 3/2 attacks per rounds and his immunity can come helpful at sometimes (especially nymph). For the stats, you can get most of the gear to help it reach a low ac pretty quick : Gnoll stronghold for 18 fixed dex gloves can help a lot and the charm +2 charisma cloak can help him also. Dont forget the ice longsword and the fire with a +1 tower shield and you can easily do durlag's tower for example just by having him on the frontline while other can concentrate on killing

Southpaw

As for a tank, I would suggest a Dwarf Defender Panther Main Tank.
Great armor, plating, inherent Constitution bonus and a mighty, manly beard. Also, from RolePlaying perspective, the shortie bonus camouflage and conversations held from the open hatch are great.

Sword and Shield style isn't actually very useful in this game (just like @Corvino said), so better put points into axes and the front dual 7.92 mm Maschinengewehr 34.


PIC related - it's the new patch 1.2 Dwarven Defender:

CutlassJack

Southpaw said:

PIC related - it's the new patch 1.2 Dwarven Defender:

The perfect thing for your Cannon Playthrough. :P

KidCarnival

Dwarven Defender. The kit is new and shiny, if nothing else. For a tank, I prefer high con and low micromanagement and ideally good saving throws and resistances. The DD kit covers all of that, and it addresses the lack of dwarven NPCs in BG2. For weapons, I'd probably go with hammer.

Aron740

Damn, so caster(?) classes can also be tanks!? That takes my "choice" progress back like four steps...

Aron740

Though the classical tank could still be more fun because of the good ol' item hunting that casters never really have to do.

Choices!!!! Ahhrrgggg!

RazaDelrom

Caster can tank if they have time to prepare the spell and are not interupted. When the spell(s) run out, are dispelled or you are silenced you stand in the front line with nothing more then a forced smile and a colorful robe...
So you need a lot more micro management especially if you for example go for a class combination or a kit. The DD is a lot more forgiving because of the overwhelming amount of HP and the resistance to physical attacks (+50% on skill, and up to 20% permanent physical resistance).
The blade starts weak, but once you have a few spells at your disposal it will make your effort count. The defensive spin for example gives you 1 AC/level up to 10 AC a few times a day- that's not bad for a caster. Add the usual defence spells, or the ability to neutralize the enemys defences and you got one char which is deadly in all fields of experience.

Aron740

The blade does sound quite nice even if it may not be exactly what I was looking for.

mackos

dwarven defender with defender of easthaven in offhand. There's no need for AC in this case

nano

I like blade too. Fighter/mage also works, it's pretty much the same thing. I like my tank to have some casting ability because a lot of the best melee buffs you can only throw on yourself. Fireshield for example, it's perfect for a tank because every time someone hits you they take damage but it's a self cast only spell.