Ranger -> Cleric

Lore

Is it still possible to cast Druid spells as a Ranger Dualed to Cleric ? or did they fix that in BG2EE ?

Thanks

FinneousPJ

Yes, it is.

Lore

Sweet many thanks. Never tried this particular combo and looking to spice things up a bit on my new playthrough. I was thinking stalker -> cleric as i love hiding and backstabs

FinneousPJ

Sounds cool. I'd recommend Ranger 9 -> Cleric but I'm not surr about the stealth progression if it's good enough.

Eudaemonium

Also remember that you'll only be able to backstab with Clubs, since Clerics can't use bladed weapons.

Eudaemonium

Or a quarterstaff. They work too.

Lore

Im thinking stalker 9 -> cleric for the 3rd backstab and club in my main hand and either mace or warhammer off hand. Never tried a cleric before let alone one who stealths and backstabs

DetectiveMittens

Eudaemonium said:

Or a quarterstaff. They work too.

You can cheese horribly with the staff of the Magi.

Eudaemonium

Not as a Stalker, though. You need to be part-Mage or have Use Any Item to wield it.

Montresor_SP

You should also put your proficiency points as a Stalker into weapons that a cleric can use. If you take proficiencies in e.g. swords or daggers, you will just lose them when you dual.

Fafnir

And even then, you can't use it to backstab.

Vakarian

If you wait until Stalker 12 to dual, you also get access to a few 3rd level mage spells. Haste and minor spell deflection can both be useful. And if you play to the XP cap, you can still reach cleric 38. Or you could go for Stalker 13 for the extra half attack/round and still be able to get to cleric 36. It will take significantly longer to get your stalker abilities back after you dual than going from Stalker 9, but it might be worth it.

nano

IMO Haste is so easy to get from a mage that it's not at all worth waiting for the Stalker spells unless you're going to 13 anyways.

Pantalion

Ranger/Cleric methinks 'tis one of the few occasions where it's mechanically preferable to multiclass.

Ranger/Cleric:
BG:EE Cap: 7/7 14 THAC0, 1.5 Attacks, 6 proficiency pips +2 2xTWF, ~63 max-HP, Saves: 7/11/10/12/12, 4th level spells.
BGII Cap: 12/14 9 THAC0, +2 pips, +~20 HP, 5/9/8/8/10, 7th Level Spells
ToB Cap: 21/25 0 THAC0, +0.5 Attacks, +3 pips, +~24 HP 2/5/4/4/6, 7th Level Spells, 20 HLAs.

Ranger -> Cleric
BG:EE Cap: Ranger 8. 13 THAC0, 1.5 Attacks, 6 Pips + 2x TWF, 80 max-HP, Saves: 10/12/11/12/13, No Spells.
BGII Cap: Ranger 9/Cleric 19: 10 THAC0, 7 Pips, +~22 HP, 4/8/7/10/9, 7th Level Spells.
ToB Cap: 9/39: 6 THAC0, 6 Pips, +~40 HP, 2/6/5/8/7, 7th Level Spells, 18 HLAs.

With only six weapons to spec in, even if the Dual Classing proficiency bug is still around, you don't need the eight extra pips from dualling. Meanwhile, the R/C outstrips their THAC0 by the end of BGII. In ToB, it gets more attacks, better HLAs, more HLAs, earlier access to HLAs, and only loses a level 6 and two level 7 spells and a few negligible Hitpoints in exchange.

Stalker -> Ranger is the only one I'd consider to be potentially worthwhile, but it's got to be because you enjoy the playstyle, because backstabbing and stealth aren't adding that much to a class which gets Sanctuary, which is probably the best form of stealth anyway, and you're giving up Full Plate for it, which isn't optimal for what is arguably the best tanking class in the game.

Wanderon

sanctuary is good but only lasts one turn - it is however a level 1 spell so multiple castings are possible but could be issues when one expires before another is cast?

That said I also agree that multi is a better choice for this class combo IMO - slows the leveling a bit but adds fighter HLAs too?

Pantalion

@Wanderon

Very true, a turn is awkward, but Sanctuary isn't lost if you activate or loot things, so compared to invisibility you can actually get more mileage out of it, whilst for routine scouting you could even just strip off your plate (soundproof backpack) to use stealth.