Grand Mastery worth it?

Calmar

My fighter has five points in Longswords and I am beginning to wonder if it's really that useful. Apparently it only gives you a slightly faster attack rate than is granted by High Mastery.

Should I try to haxx0r my char and spend that point for some other proficiency? If so, is there a way to edit him within an existing game?

Nachti

with 5 points spend you get +3 to hit +5 dmg +1 attack.

with 2 points you get +1 to hit +2 dmg +1/2 attack.

Shin

As Nachti says. Going from 1 pip to 2 and from 4 to 5 are generally the biggest improvements due to the extra attacks.

mylegbig

You get an extra 1/2 apr. So yes, definitely worth it.

CoryNewb

Plus, you get to be a GRAND master. Now I just need to find a good long sword for my dwarf. He is a grandmaster longsword dude too.

nano

I'd just leave it, long swords are fine and how could you say no to more damage?

Is there a specific weapon you really want to use instead of swords?

ryuken87

A lot of the advice you may find on the internet will likely relate to original BG2 where GM didn't grant another 1/2 apr (the most important bit of advancing in a weapon). BG2EE grants this advantage so it's worth taking.

Mechalibur

If you're playing the original, then it's not worth it. In the enhanced edition, it further increases your APR, so definitely worth it.

Eudaemonium

The most pointless advancement is probably High Mastery. Proficient means you don't get penalties, Specialisation gives you bonus to THAC0 and damage and +1/2APR. Mastery gives you a fairly sizeable (+2) THAC0 boost over Specialisation. High Mastery just gives a pitiful +1 damage, but is essentially just a bridge to Grandmastery's + another 1/2 APR.

bman86

yes, it is worth it. There are a lot of good longswords to choose from too

Calmar

Thanks for your replies! Seems Grand Mastery is in fact a good thing.

nano said:

I'd just leave it, long swords are fine and how could you say no to more damage?

Is there a specific weapon you really want to use instead of swords?

I want to gain some skill with halberds as well, because they seem quite cool and I haven't used them before.

reedmilfam

I love halberds and am playing a halberd berserker now. I'm in BG:EE, so I can't get the GM point, but that's fine. Also, warriors don't need to be proficient to be effective, as the penalty is light for them to use untrained weapons (I do this for blunt damage, for instance, against oozes and skeletons).

nano

Calmar said:

Thanks for your replies! Seems Grand Mastery is in fact a good thing.

nano said:

I'd just leave it, long swords are fine and how could you say no to more damage?

Is there a specific weapon you really want to use instead of swords?

I want to gain some skill with halberds as well, because they seem quite cool and I haven't used them before.

Yeah, halberds are pretty nice. If you're a pure fighter you'll have more than enough points to level up a second weapon after swords. Even just 2 points in halberds will be enough for you to use them as an alternate weapon.

marceror

I ALWAYS go for grandmaster with the primary weapon for any character who is capable of attaining it. Obviously it's a big commitment, but if done right it makes your characters significantly more effective with their weapons.

magpie

What about off hand weapons? How many points would be a good investment/pay-off ratio there?

Xukuth

2 points in Two Weapon Fighting, the third isn't worth it.

HandofTyr

In terms of proficiency for the off hand weapon, I'd go with 1 or 3.

Lord_Tansheron

Offhands are ideally only 20% of your swings, and they also do not benefit from APR gains whatsoever. You can easily get away with no points at all, though of course every point you do spend gives you a small bit of extra damage.

It all depends on where those points would go otherwise. If you have an alternative (ranged, alternative main hand, weapon style...) then that is very likely worth more than proficiency in your offhand weapon. If you don't have an alternative, then might as well max out the OH too. Small gains are gains still.

The same is true for Two Weapon Fighting's 3rd point.

jackjack

Personally I never go past two pips for my offhand weapons.

Eudaemonium

I usually think Mastery is ideal, for the +3 THAC0/+3 Damage as opposed to the +1 THAC0/+2 Damage of Specialisation.

Lord_Tansheron

@Eudaemonium: what makes that "ideal" exactly?

Eudaemonium

For me personally, I think it gives the most benefit for the amount of input. Specifically, the extra +2 THAC0 over Specialisation cancels out the -2 THAC0 from wielding it in the offhand (with 3 pips proficiency in DW).

If you prefer to run with 2 pips in DW, believing 3 isn't worth it, then reaching Mastery with your offhand weapon will make it functionally equivalent to having 3 pips in DW (reducing the penalty to -1 rather than -4) while also giving you an additional +1 damage.

Lord_Tansheron

So it's really not "ideal" but more like "I like it that way" ¬_¬ Which is fair enough, just as long as it's clear. There surely is some way to plot an optimal distribution of pips across the board, but given the variables involved and their vast differences from individual setup to individual setup I think it's safe to say there are no "ideal" setups per se; only a "better choice" in a given scenario. It really depends on where those points would otherwise go.