Solo m/c help please

Wizzle

I've played a bit of BG2 and decided I should start out at the beginning, that being said I want to go against the grain a little and try to solo. I've read enough to realize that without much knowledge of the game trying to solo is very inadvisable but I'm stubborn and think with enough reloading I'll eventually get through it. The main problem so far though is trying to get any kind of xp in the start, I as an m/c only seem to get 1 attack spell and my hit rolls apparently don't seem to exist as with maybe and hour and a half of attacking things and reloading I have yet to strike something successfully. Stats are 15,16,17,19,16,3 (gnome right now)

Essentially is there any way I'm missing of either gaining another attack spell early in the game so I can have an easier time of killing something, or likewise making my hit chance with melee (though I really want to be a pure caster) go up? And if not whats the best way to lvl solo at first before I start to come into some spells?

And again I know if I'm asking these questions I probably shouldnt be trying to solo but I'm stubborn and thats how I like to play games, with 1 main character . Thanks for the help.

Shin

Mage/cleric isn't an advisable combination for solo play unless you know what you're doing. You can't rely on meleeing, and early on you can't rely on your spells either. Common strategies tend to consist of using wands, using ranged weapons to kite enemies, avoiding encounters you can't handle, and a whole lot of resting.

Also, you should have 2 mage spells as a level 1 illusionist/cleric. Check your spellbook (W key) and see what you have memorized.

Madhax

You realize that the best part of BG is arguably the party members? Especially in the Enhanced Editions, where the vast majority of new content is directly tied with the new companions.

Soloing is a challenge for someone who hasn't beaten the game yet, doubly so with a complex class like Cleric/Mage. I might recommend a different combination so as to gain more melee power. A Cleric/Ranger, for example, depends on fewer stats and gets clerical magic in addition to a ranger's physical prowess.

If you stick with the Cleric/Mage, make more use of ranged weaponry. Many of your early kills will be with a sling bullet. Don't use offensive magic; use crowd control. The level 1 mage spell Sleep will absolutely ruin early enemies, including Ankhegs (which are a great source of XP). The level 2 spell Horror is also nice.

Regarding your stats: Strength only really kicks in with bonuses at 17-18 and higher. Your 15 strength is only really going to help you carry more loot (though that itself is relevant when soloing, because you don't have others to share the load). With only 15 strength, it's no surprise you can't hit anything as such a weak melee class.

Dexterity bonuses kick in at 15-18, so maximizing it would give you a nice AC and ranged attack boost. This will help you a lot.

Constitution bonuses kick in at 15 and up, but only warrior-classes get a benefit after 16. So, you only need 15-16 for a cleric/mage.

You can spare a point of Intelligence off of a gnome's 19 max. You'll get no benefit from going higher, and there are means to permanently give you a point or two throughout the series. Starting at 18 is fine, unless you're concerned about spell-scribing chances or lore.

You'll want to maximize your Wisdom, as any amount of it continuously bestows extra spell slots to you. Start at 18 if you can.

Charisma at 3 will hurt your shop prices, but that is okay since you're soloing and only need 1/6 the equipment. Note, however, that if you did decide to build a party, many party members would refuse to join you because of this.

Wizzle

Thanks for the advice from both of you, that helped quite a bit, it also made me realize I need to pay more attention to my spell book and whats memorized lol.

wizzywazzo

I agree with what Madhax was saying. As a cleric/ mage you definitely want to disable before you engage the enemy, with either melee or ranged attacks. Level one blindness is going to be your friend. Sleep/ command are also level one hero spells. Ankegs and bassilisks are an easy way to farm up exp. early. With blind you can kill ankegs, and the ghoul outside the bassilsk area will do all the heavy lifting (just make sure you have immunity from petrification). After doing those 2 area's you should be a few levels higher, and it makes progressing thru the game much more easier. Don't forget it is also beneficial to skip fights if they do not offer you anything, and it is easier to just cast lvl2 invisibility and skip minions and just fight bosses. (this makes the mines very easy)

zur312

c/m is not really solo character

solo characters are fighter/mages
f/m/t
f/m/c

c/m is really bad at physical damage and that 1 spell/round is not really enough to kill enemies at lest not for a c/m

GamingFreak

Cleric/Mage *can* solo but it takes time and work. For starters, you need to balance out the buffs and debuffs between both both magic classes and get equipment that suits the needs. Strength/THAC0 buffs are a must since you pretty much need melee, and if your CON is lacking then you could use the girdle that increases your CON to 18 for 8 in-game hours.

But in solo games C/M can get way more spells than, say, Aerie could get hanging out in a full group. That said, it's definitely solo build that's harder to achieve than many others.

booinyoureyes

I just imagine soloing the game (especially without having beaten it before) to be the most boring lonely experience ever. If you want a challenge, maybe get at least two other NPCs with you. That way you can play your cleric/mage and have a couple meat shields (Kagain) and perhaps a thief (Coran will help out a lot). Not having a thief at all in BG1 is really a drag.

elminster

Its certainly a combo you can solo its just going to be a little rough out of the gate. Like others have said the level 1 mage spell Sleep is going to be a great spell to pick. The good thing about soloing though is that you are going to get a lot more experience. It shouldn't be too difficult for you to leave BGEE with hundreds of thousands of experience (even if it only says you have 161000 it will record experience amounts over that) for you to import into BG2EE with.

Dragonspear

@Elminster

Really I didn't know that it kept a record.

elminster

It should now. Didn't used to I don't think.

Shin

News to me as well actually, pretty cool change if so. It'd actually be a reason to not use an exp cap remover and still clear all maps and do all quests.

moody_mage

It kept a record in tutu too. I noticed this when I realised I hadn't removed the XP cap properly and then removed it and my XP jumped from 161K to nearly 200K.

Solo M/C - in addition to the above the hidden ring in the tree along the bottom of the FAI will help a lot.

elminster

Yea I mean say you only get the equivalent of what a 6 person party would get if they each got exactly 161,000 XP. Thats still just shy of 1 million XP for your so character to enter BG2 with.