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Crazy Ideas

I wanted to start a discussion of bold, risky but possibly fruitful ventures.

WHAT IF, you dual-classed your mage at 18 into rogue? THAT would be interesting. But man, starting from level 1 (THEN AGAIN, in BG2 leveling will not take long for 1-7 since you get much more exp throughout the game, but it isn't much for higher levels). Instead of rogue-to-mage, you can get one level 9 spell, a distant list of spells and by the time your rogue reaches 19 you can be equipped with a POWERFUL list of spells and some powerful rogue attributes. Sure, it'll take a massively long time, but at least it won't take as long as leveling a pure-class mage to 31. I think, although you lose some of the benefits of mage power, you can eventually have a rogue with its HLAs and some magic to boot. BUT in bg2, it is a risky venture. And some might resort to power-gaming and import into a new game or black pits and level up that way before importing back into the original save. Which is disappointing if you do so, but I wouldn't blame them entirely.

Also, Mixing a Wizard Slayer with thief. Sadly, you can't use equipment that would provide good sneaky boosts, but the magical resistance can help make up for the thief's inability to use really good armor, and if you specialize the thief in hide in shadows and move silently, you can possibly make a great backstabber, especially against mages. This is assuming it is possible (haven't tried).

If you have ideas besides dual-classing, I'd like to hear them.

Comments

  • DreadKhanDreadKhan Member Posts: 3,857
    Someone should do a Kensai/Shapeshifter or Kensai/Avenger. Multis. Nothing crazy there!

    Also been curious if a highish level Avenger or Shapeshifter to Fighter could work. I think you'd get 1 HLA iirc for druid.
  • SouthpawSouthpaw Member Posts: 2,026
    Kensai/Shapeshifter or Kensai/Avenger aren't possible in the engine, except for heavy modding or changing a lot of things via EEKeeper. It's a bummer that you can't dual->class from a normal class to a kit either. Some class combos, like Fighter->Avenger would be very interesting.

    Wizard Slayer-> Thief is actually the almost only option how to play a Wizard Slayer effectively (The kit, as it is. Without mods)
    I remember someone trying the Shapeshifter->Fighter dual at lvl 13 but the experience was a bit awkward.
    Avenger->Fighter...pretty meh in my opinion.
    Actually usable and interesting combo like this is Swashbuckler->Fighter (Basically an AC/THAC0 powerhouse, with low HP)
  • DrakarDrakar Member Posts: 16
    If you have good THAC0 and AC, you don't need as much HP but low HP is still a vulnerability of course...and you can possible kill them before they kill you with a good THAC0 score. I imagine Kensai can be a REALLY strong asset, but the limit on magical items isn't the same as the other classes. What if you Dual Assassin into fighter at a higher level? If you by chance get your Assassin skills back you can have a good backstab...by using MUCH stronger weapons a fighter can use. Also, if only Dwarves could DUal, I'd dual Dwarven Defender into Mage at one point to get those very nice bonuses and the half-damage skill.

    Also, I've noticed Minsc is able to fill tank, DPS, and ranged roles quite well. So, while optimized for two-handed, he can technically be dual-wield AND longbow.
  • KamigoroshiKamigoroshi Member Posts: 5,870
    You want crazy ideas? Play as an Wizard Slayer dualed into an Wizard Slayer, who only equips non-magical arms and armors throughout the Trilogy!
  • elminsterelminster Member, Developer Posts: 16,317
    Mage 15 - > cleric dual class.
  • DrakarDrakar Member Posts: 16
    Lol, Kami. And Elminster, that is actually a nice idea. I wouldn't rely on a Cleric/Mage for frontlining or much non-magical damage, so the support would work nicely. What about any specialized mage classes? I imagine that could be a VERY powerful support class if done correctly. Or a powerful debuff combo.
  • LordRumfishLordRumfish Member Posts: 937
    Go Wild Mage 14-->Thief. I made a post about this once... basically, you use Improved Chaos Shield and Nahal's Reckless Dweomer to cast all of your 8th and 9th circle spells, and your thief HLA nets you the ability to use any item, so you can do dumb things like equipping up Carsomyr. It's the ultimate toolbox character!... assuming you're the kind of person who likes to use a wrench to hammer in nails.

    In other news, Priest of Talos. Yep.
  • DrakarDrakar Member Posts: 16
    Wild Mage would give some decent power, but is it worth it attempting any kind of Mage at 18 into Thief? I mean, you can get the HLA's at 18 or 19 (doesn't say you have to be AT 3 mil xp) once you get Thief past that, and the HLA's for Thief are there too. Also, Use Any Item would allow the use of priest scrolls right?
  • MetallomanMetalloman Member, Moderator, Translator (NDA) Posts: 3,975
    O,o

    OP: That'a sort of masochism... or spirit of sacrifice, depending on how you look at it: masochism because playing something like this will hurt you really bad; spirit of sacrifice because you'll sacrifice yourself in the name of the will to share the knowledge of your dramatic experience with us. ;p
  • DrakarDrakar Member Posts: 16
    I will attempt it. Once legitimately, once with EE Keeper. The former may prove to be impossible to live through, the latter is cheating but you get to test out its might!
  • DreadKhanDreadKhan Member Posts: 3,857
    @Southpaw‌ get thy reason hence, sirrah! This is a discussion of *crazy* ideas! Of course my idea would require extensive hassling with mods/editors. But I agree bit of a bummer.

    Mage to anything is just plain weird. If you COULD go mage to kensai, it could actually work. You'd get defence boosts, ability to use scrolls, and the ability to use a few defense spells. Optimal? Maybe not, but you'd be a very, very effective fighter in ToB.

    Regular insane idea though: Skald solo. Rely on summons!
  • DrakarDrakar Member Posts: 16
    I couldn't do Skald solo, there aren't even that many classes one could solo with without needing super amounts of patience. Mage to anything is hard, as well. But I assume there is a pay-off if you pull it off. What if...MAGE TO WIZARD SLAYER!

    But yeah, if one could pull off a Mage to Fighter or Thief they could potentially wield VERY powerful spells and VERY powerful weapons. Though, they'd have to be wearing no armor in order to pull it off, which means you better have the THAC0 and damage to kill them before they kill you.
  • elminsterelminster Member, Developer Posts: 16,317
    Drakar said:

    Lol, Kami. And Elminster, that is actually a nice idea. I wouldn't rely on a Cleric/Mage for frontlining or much non-magical damage, so the support would work nicely. What about any specialized mage classes? I imagine that could be a VERY powerful support class if done correctly. Or a powerful debuff combo.

    Ohh I was saying it would be crazy because

    1) By dual classing at level 15 you are dual classing before you get access to either level 8 or level 9 spells (Horrid Wilting, Time Stop, Improved Alacrity, Wish, etc).
    2) By the time you get your cleric levels back you would have had access to level 8/9 mage spells (along at least one HLA) had you stayed as a single class mage. This would make you way more powerful than what you would get as a dual class mage 15 -> cleric.
    3) Cleric HLA's are pretty meh and you wouldn't get access to them until much later
    4) By going mage to cleric instead of cleric to mage you miss out on a bunch of extra health from levels 1-9.

    I mean sure there are a few upsides but overall it would be pretty crazy to do. :)
  • SouthpawSouthpaw Member Posts: 2,026
    DreadKhan said:

    Regular insane idea though: Skald solo. Rely on summons!

    Another "Regular insane idea": BGEE Monk solo. Insane difficulty, no reloads!
  • Abi_DalzimAbi_Dalzim Member Posts: 1,428
    Wizard Slayer solo, insane difficulty with Tactics and Ascension, no dual-class?
  • DrakarDrakar Member Posts: 16
    Monk BG EE no reloads? THAT IS CRAZY! But it isn't impossible for BG2EE right? One of few classes that gets easier the further in, which is unusual.
  • Abi_DalzimAbi_Dalzim Member Posts: 1,428
    Drakar said:

    Monk BG EE no reloads? THAT IS CRAZY! But it isn't impossible for BG2EE right? One of few classes that gets easier the further in, which is unusual.

    Uh, MAGE?
  • ArdulArdul Member Posts: 211

    Drakar said:

    Monk BG EE no reloads? THAT IS CRAZY! But it isn't impossible for BG2EE right? One of few classes that gets easier the further in, which is unusual.

    Uh, MAGE?
    Uh, SORCERER?
  • SouthpawSouthpaw Member Posts: 2,026
    @Drakar - yes. The Monk gets easier the more levelled-up you are. Especially after lvl 13. BG2EE is perfectly soloable, ToB gets tricky, but I have heard about people making it.
  • DrakarDrakar Member Posts: 16
    edited August 2014
    The only issue is boss battles, which in BG2 Npc mages (enemies, not what you can have) start off badass where you can only start of semi-badass.
  • JuliusBorisovJuliusBorisov Member, Administrator, Moderator, Developer Posts: 22,758
    edited August 2014
    One of the craziest ideas regarding BG, to me, is to complete the game without levelling up.

    I remember the first time I thought about it all I could say was: "IMPOSSIBRU!"

    But as it turned out, it IS possible, and our @bbear has succeeded (see http://forum.baldursgate.com/discussion/29615/is-it-possible-to-solo-level-1-the-bg-saga#latest)

    I still think this idea is crazy.
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