Dual Class Vs Multiclass, pros and cons for those of us who are new
perfectblue
Member Posts: 10
Back when the BG series first released I was very young, and as such did not have a good grasp on multiclass vs dual class and the advantages/disadvantageous each offer.
I would like to come into BG Enchanced armed with a much better understanding of why I would select one over another. Thanks in advance.
I would like to come into BG Enchanced armed with a much better understanding of why I would select one over another. Thanks in advance.
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It's biggest downside is that if you advance your first class to too high a level before dual classing it means when you do dual class you will be lacking the abilities of your first class until your second class surpases the first class in level. Depending on the circumstances this could take a very long time.
Multi class is good if you aren't as experience but want to gain the abilities of two separate classes. You can also can choose three class multi class characters (Fighter/Mage/Cleric or Fighter/Thief/Mage) though because experience would be split between each class I wouldn't recommend having 6 party members in that case. Unlike a dual class where experience is only gained in one class at any one time, for multi class characters experience is equally shared between the classes (not quite equally shared, but basically so).
And dual class fighters get grand mastery, whereas multiclass fighters can only get specialize.
Some people don't want to stop leveling as a particular class and would prefer to have equal abilities in both or all three of their classes?
Multi-class can be three classes at once instead of just two?
If you want your F/T to be able to backstab then use a timestop scroll then start whirlwinding Carsomyr, etc. that only happens if you multi-class.
A multi-class A/B is A and B at the same time. Compared to a dual-class A->B, the multi-class would be better at A and worse at B.
and which do you think is better, fig/the/mage or fig/cle/mage? i want to create a char i have in my mind, but guess it's not possible.
and last thought, i can understand a thief not being able to be lawful good, but is there any kits that would allow you to? like maybe that would get rid of pick pocket as everything else i thief can do has uses that wouldn't get around the law (disarming traps in a dungeon/ hiding in shadows for combat purposes/ etc).
Aerie is a cleric/mage. She levels up both classes but mroe slowly because the xp is split (she gains 50 xp from a fight, so she gets 25 xp in cleric and 25 xp in mage). But unlike imoen, her two classes will stay close to the same level. Cleric usually requires less xp to level up, so a the end of the game, she's usually lvl 20 cleric/lvl 18 mage. Her total level is higher, and she has alot of abilities, but she doesn't have as many high level mage spells as imoen does. If the roles were reversed, here's how i see it.
In the first setting, aerie has access to lvl 7 priest spells and lvl 9 mage spells, but let's say for instance that she was a human and was a cleric to lvl 11, then dual classed to a mage. She would lose all her cleric abilities (except for the hitpoints she had gained) until she reached level 12 as a mage, and then she would get it all back. It's kinda like you focus hard and heavy on your new abilities until you catch up to where you were.
So, in this case, at the end of the game, she'll be a lvl 11 cleric/lvl 25 mage. She'll have decent healing magic, but she's be an awesome mage. Not sure if you ever played final fantasy 11, but to me, it's kinda like your sub class in that game. You get the bonuses/benefits of those abilities you earned, but your main focus is going to be on the class you dual TO.
Best use of it is if you want to make a fighter that has some theiving skills. You would START as a thief, level up til you have all the skills that you want/think you'll need, then you dual class TO a warrior. Your career begins as a warrior, and when you level up enough, you'll unlock your thief abilities. Your focus is as a warrior, but once the thief abilities are unlocked, you can use them as any other thief could, including your back stab multiplier.
Sorry if i confused you more, i honestly tried my best to break it down and i really hope it helps.
Special note. You level up as a fighter to level 10, and put all your points in daggers. IF YOU DON'T PUT ANY POINTS IN DAGGERS AS A THIEF, once you unlock your warrior abilities (by reaching lvl 11 as a thief, your points will still be there. So this can be used to be able to use weapons a class normally cant, such as making a warrior, puting points into long bows/composite bows, then dual to a thief and once you reach the level to unlock your warrior abilities, your thief can now use long bows.
Do a run through of the game and try it out and all this will make sense.
And if I might say a good word of advice... The best way to understand how those two works... Is by creating virtual characters and CLUAConsole (it's a cheat) them to higher level, to see what they can actually do and how long that takes. (careful, to dual class you need minimum stats for the new class and being human. I've tried dual classing a gnome. Didn't realise it wasn't possible until level 11 mage. I hate them now) That will clear most of the understanding about the mechanism. For more advanced tips... pick any post up, they gave good depth on it.
My intention was to begin the game as a dwarf illusionist and then switch to one of the fighter kits around level 8 or so. From what I can remember dwarfs specifically gain a bonus in illusion magic, and it would be helpful to have as a fighter.
EDIT : you NEED to be HUMAN to dual class (trust my experience of my gnome i couldn't dual >.>)
Munchkin indeed!
It's good to have played the game once so you know what areas you can gain XP in for the reasons stated.
If you want to really roleplay, then knowing the class xp tables is essential as you can plan ahead. An example would be Mage>Thief, the mage requires more XP to level up, the thief less. So you can level up to cast level 9 spells as a mage, then have enough xp left in the game (based on the cap) to surpass that level as a thief.
An example. Under the xp cap of 161,000 as in BG+TotSC, a mage can only ever level up to 9 (135,000 xp). He/she can never reach level 10 (250,000 xp). That means 161,000 - 135,000 = 26,000 xp remain unused as they do not lead to a higher level.
This gap is where dual-classing comes in: those 26,000 xp will buy you a level 5 fighter (16,000 xp), a level 5 cleric (13,000 xp) or even a level 6 thief (20,000 xp)!
In practice:
- You start the character as a fighter, accumulating all the perks such as high hitpoints, 16 THAC0 and Grand Mastery in a weapon, ability to use armor...
- At fighter level 5, you dual-class to mage. You lose the fighter perks and are strictly a mage until your mage level exceeds your fighter level.
- At mage level 6, your fighter abilities reactivate and you're a level 5/6 fighter/mage with high hitpoints, better THAC0 and Grand Mastery. You progress further as a mage until you hit the xp cap as a level 5/9 fighter/mage.
That's why dual-classing is such a powerful choice in a game with an xp cap. Instead of ending BG as a level 9 mage, you end it as a level 5 fighter/level 9 mage. You got those 5 fighter level and their perks practically for free.
In response to your question about stats: dual-classing requires 17 in the class you want to dual-class to. In the above example, 17 INT. The rest of the abilities depends on what you want to do with the character. High STR and CON seem an obvious choice for a fighter, but suppose you have an arcane archer in mind? Then you might put less focus on STR and CON, and more on DEX. If the composite longbow didn't require 18 STR, that is.
Edit: missed Chippy's post, which makes the same point, only earlier. Liked!
As far as exp. gathering in BG1 is much slower than in BG2, dualing becomes hard enough... the way I used for FAST dualing into a mage in BG1 is the following:
* Temporary leave all your party members and move alone to the "Angheg Area" (anghegs are respawning there periodically);
* Use scrolls and wand of fire to cope with anghegs (each worth 975 exp.);
* Recharge wand of fire in the nearest "Friendly Arm Inn" (just sell one charge wand and buy it again);
* When necessary exp. is gathered, return to your party members (if any, of course) and rejoin them.
multi rox
pure sux
dual sux
3 exceptions:
offensive spellcasters go pure
extreme powerplayers go dual(doubtful benefits though)
solo players go whatever
TL;DR if in doubt - go multiclass.
The main thing is not to swap party members (as they are essentially pits of XP you won't get back).
IMO multiclassing is easier to play as because once you pick the class there's nothing else you need to worry about other than leveling somewhat more slowly. For a new player however you might want to avoid multiclass combinations like fighter/mage since their class roles are so different. Multiclassing with 3 classes is probably too much for a beginner too because of the relatively low abilities you will get from each class. As a bonus however a multiclass in TOB can obtain the high level abilities of each class you have, with the following caveat: you can only pick a HLA that matches the level you just gained. So if your multiclass fighter/thief gained a thief level you can choose use any item, if they gain a fighter level you can pick whirlwind. Wow, writing all this makes me think multiclassing is more complicated that I remembered.
The one real problem with dual classing is the crippling weakness it gives you until your second class outlevels the first. If you are a level 5 fighter and dualclass into a thief you lose your weapon proficiencies, attack bonuses and can't even equip weapons or armor not allowed to thieves. Basically, you really are a level 1 thief running around in a level 5 party hoping that the rest of the group can carry you until you become a level 6 thief, one level higher than the class you set aside. Once that happens you get all of your old abilities etc. back but can never level the old class again. According to my 2e rulebook, in pnp you were actually allowed to use your old classes abilities in an emergency but if you did your character gained no XP for that day. I suppose they simplified that for gameplay reasons.
I really really hope they add some thieves (kits or otherwise) into BG2:EE that aren't gonna be lost for story reasons and aren't dual-classed out of thief.