BG1 Berserker weapon proficiency?
knight1337
Member Posts: 32
If this were BG2/TOB I would put 5 stars in axes and 3 in dual wield (Frostreaver/Axe of Cheese and Belm)
But what do you suggest for BG1?
But what do you suggest for BG1?
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** War Hammer
** Axe
Then when you level up go for Axe/Dual wield.
The reason you want to pick war Hammer is because you get an awesome war hammer in BG1 very early, and it'll carry you all the way to Baldur's gate where you can pick up a very good axe. Another reason for having those ** in war hammer is that it will be great help when fighting golems in BG2.
This is if you're planning on playing him in BG2 as well. If you're only going to play BG1 then i would advice you to drop the whole dual wield and just go for longsword/hammer and a shield.
longsword/hammer is really better than longsword/shortbows or other missile weapon? Some people say its useful to have bows even as a fighter
War hammer / Longsword is the best option for your berserker in BG1 (Unless you're after killing a certain guy, and even then it's not worth changing). You'll get an amazing war hammer and longsword very early in the game, and they will carry you to the end of the game.
You'll be able to get a very low AC very quickly on your berserker, so throw a shield onto him and let him tank, with his enrage you'll be pretty much unstoppable in BG1.
I actually find sword and shield proficiency very useful in BG1. So i would probably run him with :
** Longsword (Or war hammer)
** Sword and shield
And then when you level up put your other proficiency into the weapon of choice. That +4 vs missile isn't worth it in BG2 but you'll fight very many strong archers in BG1 not to mention many of the normal enemies you'll fight are also ranged. This way you can keep your berserker in the front to draw the missile fire from the enemy team.
Some people will try to convince you to run dual wield, but it really isn't worth it in BG1.
Later in the game you can also find a very good enchanted axe that is usable both in melee and thrown.
Longswords, Warhammers and Shortswords all have +2 versions available early. Scimitars appear later, but if you're willing to kill a famous drow then you can get a pair of the best swords in the game.
Overall BG:EE has evened out weapon categories a lot. Just about everything now has at least one +2 weapon, so go with whatever you prefer. If Axes are your thing then there are +1 throwing axes that can be used in melee for sale in Beregost, though you can't equip an offhand weapon with them.
When you already have a few apr, one more from dual wielding is still great, but certainly not as powerful as going from 1.5 to 2.5 APR at the start of BG1 which represents the biggest damage improvement ever.
With a Berserker i would always go :
** Dual wield
** In your weapon of choice.
Put *** at lvl 3 and **** at lvl 6 in your selected weapon, use the Enrage ability and reck everything
At level 7 with 4 proficiency in your choice of weapon and a potion of haste, you don't need more than that. Rather pick that extra -3 AC to be honest. You'll be able to sit on -10 to -12 AC that way.
Your berserker should be the tank of your party, this means he'll stand at the front and take hits. So you'll either have +3 more AC to handle the 5 guys around you beating on you, or you'll be able to hit ONE of those 5 guys one more time every round.
I'll agree with dual wield for BG2 with improved haste and some incredible armor not to mention AC doesn't do that much end game in BG2. But in BG1 i would always pick 3 more AC instead of 1 APR.
However I think you could risk dual wielding with 18 Dex, ankheg plate mail (or full plate), a ring or cloak of protection +1 (in Baldur's Gate city you can get the Cloak of Balduran and a ring of protection +2 and use both at the same time), boots of avoidance and girdle of piercing against missile attacks, golden girdle against slashing weapons. Most of the items I mentioned (except the cloak of balduran and the ring of protection +2) are available quite early in the game (if you know where to look).
Even if i think AC is very important (even if ToB if you know what you're doing) and i'm one of the few who are going to agree with you about ** Sword and Shield style, i still think that dual wielding with your Charname is better. You can still reach godly amount of AC without a shield in BG1 :
1 base with a full plate mail (with bonuses depending of the type of attack)
-4 Dex
-2 Ring of protection
-1 Cloak of Balduran
-1 Helmet of Balduran
If you use the belt which boost your crushing ac (the only weakness of the full plate mail), you have at least a bonus of -3 everywhere
You are already at -10 with a very standard setup, throw in a Defensive Harmony, Drizzt's Scimitar, Enrage ability, you can easely reach -14 or -16 ac.
Going from -14 to -17 AC is practically useless, but going from 2 to 3 APR (at lvl 7) grants you a 50% damage increase ! 50% is clearly the biggest improvement you could make on your character in BG1.
It also means more chance to interrupt casters, break Mirror Images and Stoneskin faster which are hard to dispell in BG1.
And of course, you kill your foes faster which means you are going to take less damage, for you, but also for your allies, because let's face it, if the enemies are attacking your Cleric or your Mage, you're going to be happy to have another attack per round which hits for 25-30 damage.
Sorry for my english, have a nice day !
Also, your main character in BG1 is just about the only person ingame who can be set up to dual-wield effectively. Just about any warrior character can be an effective tank with the right gear.