How do I spread points for a fighter?
Simna
Member Posts: 21
I got tired of my Archer in BGEE so I made me a Fighter instead for BGEE II and I’m planning to make him duel class later on (to what and when?).
I got 84 points. I maxed out Strength, Dexterity and Constitution and gave Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma 10 each. Should I’ve done it in another way?
I got 84 points. I maxed out Strength, Dexterity and Constitution and gave Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma 10 each. Should I’ve done it in another way?
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Don't forget to wear the ring of influence (and other charisma enhancing items) when dealing with merchants, or use a high charisma npc to start the deal.
The bad point is your unplanned dual classing.
With those stats dual classing to a thief is the only option.
I personally don't dual class or multiclass my PCs in BG, but going down the road of a fighter, I would go with a fighter dual classed into a thief, taking care of getting points in weapons that backstab, for example: long swords, clubs, short swords (slashing, blunt and piercing damage) and some missile weapons. I would dual class at the moment I get an extra half attack: level 7 or 13 depending if you start in BG1 or BG2.
I strongly suggest you plan out ahead your PC with progression charts in hand, that indicate the effects the stats have on your characters, and how each class levels up down the road (attacks per round, etc.). Some like to plan them out in terms of what weapons you find out there...
They can use shields, though using them will lock you out of the Staff of the Ram +4/+6, the best weapon in the game.
For maximum cheesiness, you should start out as a Kensai - they can't wear armor, which is not a big loss since you can still wear robes (the robes of vecna rule the day until you get alacrity, although Cleric/Mages make better work of them) - They rape through the opposition with their special abilities - you should dual at 13, which is when you get your second attack, and also the exact point at which you can still manage to hit Mage level 28 (the last level that progresses spells per day).
Dual class characters, however, become inferior to Multi-Class ones once they start getting HLAs, since Multi will get a lot more of them and a larger pool to draw from: A Fighter/Mage Dual will only earn HLAs from the Mage part, only two of which are vital (Alacrity and Planetar) and will only earn a maximum of 10 of them, while a Fighter/Mage Multi will earn 18 of them, also drawing upon game breakers from the fighter list (Improved Whirlwind Attack, Critical Strike, Magic Resistance and Hardiness) as well as those from the Mage (Planetar and Alacrity).
Honestly, though, Fighter/Mage is not one of the best Multi or Dual classes out there due to the fact that these two classes do not synergise very well (a lot of fighter abilities can be gained through mage buffs alone), unlike the Mage/Cleric Multiclass, which can use Alacrity and the Robes of Vecna to its fullest potential, since they will affect the spells from both their spell lists (most notably Heal, which can only vecome truly viable in combat at their hands), roid spells from both lists, which put them on par with a regular fighter when fighting (although that is not the best use of their abilities), use Invisibility then Turn Undead (which does not break it, making any dungeon crawl against vampires and liches a joke once you hit the turn undead cap at 20), have a steady supply of powerful minions (Both Planetars and Devas), never having to rest or use dispel on hexed allies (High Wis from Cleric grants you the best wishes, making most of the game a cakewalk), being capable of raping enemies with breach and skull traps (best blast in the game) while dispensing support through your many clerical spells, and many, many other things that make this class combination the best of the game (although it requires a lot of effort to shine, and takes a long time to develop, fitting the neatly in the definition of Difficult but Awesome)
If you want to dual into thief, max out DEX, for cleric max out WIS, and for mage max out INT.
The highest possible physical stats (STR, DEX, CON) are always desirable for a fighter. So with 84 points to distribute and STR-DEX-CON maxed out, you wouldn't have enough points to also max out WIS or INT, unless you really lowered CHA and INT (enabling high WIS for a cleric dual), or CHA and WIS (enabling high INT for a mage dual). I don't like my characters to be very uncharismatic or very dumb, but others have no problem with it.
So in this case Fighter/Thief seems to be your best bet. A very powerful class. You'll have plenty of thief skill points to make you perfectly competent at pretty much all neat thief skills (lockpicking, detecting and setting traps, stealth, and later detect illusions; I'd consider pickpocket a backburner, but if you thinks it's fun, why not go for it?). Besides your fighting prowess complements you as a thief: you'll have better backstabs (bonuses to hit and damage thanks to weapon specialization/mastery, higher STR, better thac0 progression), and besides backstabs won't be your only trick in battle. You'll be able to stand your ground in face to face combat as well.
The other dual classes are also very powerful, though I'd try to get a higher starting roll, around 28-32 (or if you're lucky even higher). That way you can have good scores in all your physical stats plus high INT or WIS, without compromising too much in the secondary stats.
EDIT:
Oops, I see now that you're already decided on a Fighter-Mage, aren't you?. Best stat spread:
STR 18/xx
DEX 18
CON 18
INT 18
WIS >8
CHA ?? (whatever points you've got to spare)
Dual class to mage at level 13 only if you are soloing (or duo) the game and you have got a substantial meta game knowledge.
Rule of thumb : play a multiclass Fighter/Mage instead. This is fun to play all game long.
Really a powerful classic / standard of BG2.
If you are so concerned about armours then perhaps you should explore the arcane spell catalog a bit more.
Unless you install a mod (BG2 tweak pack) you cannot cast while wearing most (well the vast majority of) armours. Such an option is available at the very end of BG2 SoA part (chapter 7).
If you are new, it is recommended you spend at least a week trying to master the game's mechanics - it does not forgive, nor does it forget - it IS a hardcore game after all, not some kiddy-shit who rewards you for doing nothing like most RPGs - it requires skill, and even the most experienced gamer will occasionally suffer a TPK due to factors beyond their control.
This site should give you a very brief and basic guide to the game (if made into a document, it'd probably fit in only 25 pages), the rest you will have to find out yourself
Just to fill you in, I will provide a very simplified explanation on wizard strategy, the most pivotal class to the party:
Mages are, first and foremost, capable of filling a plethora of roles, as someone familiar with PnP Pathfinder, I can tell you some things which I found to be absolutely true on both it and Baldur's Gate:
1. Offensive: Blasting is crap after the early game, seriously, until level 10, it is a valid role, but unless you have some very specific build, it is a thousand times inferior to the roles of Buffer, Debuffer and Controller once you hit BG2 - Enemies have too many protections, blasting damage does not scale well and it will hurt you as much as your enemies. Magic Missile, for instance, only serves to occasionally interrupt spellcasting, while Fireball, Thunderbolt and other standard blasting spells become useless due to their unpredictability and danger, as well as their obsolete damage - the way to go for killing enemies is through Save or Suck spells, most notably the ones who inflict death and petrification, but they require a lot of planning to use - a combination of Breach, Doom and Greater Malison will be your bread and butter as an "offensive" mage, followed by the likes of Disintegrate, Wail of The Banshee and Chromatic Orb - do note however, that this does not synergize at all with the fighter playing style, as it will take a lot of time and positioning, as well as save haven against interruption.
2. Defensive: Mages call upon a lot of useful spells that already make them as useful as fighters in combat, hence why Dual Classing is superfluous - Strength, Tenser's Transformation, Improved Haste, Energy Blades, Phantom Blade and Stoneskin will, when combined, make any mage superior to their dirty fighter brethren when it comes to combat, this coupled with their other, less useful buffs, make them invaluable to the party, though not as much as a Cleric, since many of their buffs affect not only themselves, but others as well.
3. Controlling: Mages are the best summoners in the game, having access to the fearsome Planetar, but their other summons shouldn't be ignored - a nishruu and its evolution will absolutely rape through enemy mages and are much more disposable than your dirty fighter peasant, while the Undead can serve as bait for enemy mages to waste their debuffs on, since they are immune to mind-affecting effects. Overall, Summoning conflicts with the fighter playstyle due to the fact that summons already take the role of a fighter.
4. Counterspelling: Pierce Magic, Breach, Dispel, Remove Magic and Lower Resistance are must-haves for any mage, since they WILL be required to deal with the many magic users in the game, if you cannot comprehend this, seek out another game, for Baldur's Gate is a hardcore arms-race that only gets harder - the mage's pivotal role is this, counterspellin' the shit that enemy spell casters erect against and toward you - Mind you, this will take most of the wizard's time, which is why you can't just send them in to join the fray - if you do not Breach a Protection from Magical Weapons, for instance, you will never be able to damage the enemy, if you do not remove mirror images or misleads with true sight, the fight will go on forever (assuming the enemy doesn't turn your own allies against you, ofc), if your enemy dire charms or confuses your allies, it is your job to prevent them from raping you as well as them dying at your hands - this of course, will prevent the mage from actually joining the battle, lest you risk a TPK - be always prepared and aware, the game does not acknowledge if you are good or bad, it's got the gun, so it makes the rules, follow them if you can, lest you drive yourself into the path of the dodo. ಠ_ಠ
I will answer such a question with another question which should answer your question.
By any chance, is this game called "Planescape: Torment"?
Focus on the story and characters. Get the basics of getting the most out of your party down. Then worry about power gaming on later play throughs.
I see that you really are a hardcore gamer and take BG very seriously and I'm very pleased for all the help you have given me. And yes I'm a noob (Sort of, played this game many years ago but have come back to it now when it have been made possible to play at a "modern" PC. Modern games lacks an intriguing story as these which I miss). I feel that I have some Reading on the net to do Before i start out a new adventure in BGEE II.
@Simna, why don't you simply play warrior of some type (fighter, barbarian, ranger, paladin), and figure out the mechanics of cleric and mage spells using your party members?
Sorry if I sounded petulant or arrogant before, I suffer from Unstable Emotional Personality Disorder which makes me lash out very frequently at the slightest hint of provocation, this, coupled with the drivenness of Asperger's and the lack of patience of ADHD makes me a very unstable person who is reluctantly hepful but hot-blooded.
I must thank you, though, for your understanding conduct, people tend to try to confront me, which usually does not go well for either party, the fact that you didn't lash out at my annoyance has calmed my boiling blood. I have about 10 years of experience in the game, which is surprising given my relatively young age, so I am very qualified to talk about most topics - I have been currently thinking of posting in-depth analyses of each multi-class combination here on the forums, but my own procrastination makes this project unlikely to be put forward.
My own inability to comprehend humor and literal-mindedness do not do me any favors as well, since I tend to take everything at face value.
And if @Simna you get stuck or have a specific question, people on here are always willing to help you
As a note: you need minimum 15 in your primary stat (Str for a fighter) and 17 in the primary stat of the class you want yo dual to in order to dual class. So, 17 Dex to dual to thief, 17 Int to dual to Mage, 17 Wis to dual to Cleric etc.
If this is your first playthrough in a long time though, sticking to one class is fine. If you really want a fighter with some extras then co sider either a Ranger or Paladin kit for some spellcasting or a multiclass, as these miss the downtime you get with a dual.