Inquisitor Paladin vs. Priest of Helm??
Draekin
Member Posts: 40
I want to do a BG:EE (and maybe continue to BG2:EE) with a character that dislikes evil magic users. I want him to be a kind, enlightened individual. I feel as though the Inquisitor sort of fits this ideal, however there is one glaring issue for me... they seem somewhat boring. Not enough micro-management, too much "mindless hack n' slash". To that end, I supposed that a Priest of Helm Cleric may be the answer. I can easily roleplay the wisdom/enlightened aspect of the character using a Cleric, and they have more "to do" with all the priest spells available. Plus, with the True Sight still available with the Priest of Helm kit, it seems like a good fit.
So I guess I have a few questions:
(1) Is an Inquisitor boring to play (especially after losing so many of the default Paladin abilities)?
(2) Is the Priest of Helm powerful enough? I see people saying that single-class clerics are very underwhelming once you move into BG2.
Thanks!!
So I guess I have a few questions:
(1) Is an Inquisitor boring to play (especially after losing so many of the default Paladin abilities)?
(2) Is the Priest of Helm powerful enough? I see people saying that single-class clerics are very underwhelming once you move into BG2.
Thanks!!
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Comments
2. Clerics are very good in BG1, silence makes many challenging fights a joke, and their self buffs can make them compete with other frontliners. Clerics can't reliably fill the frontliner role in BG2. Stuck at 1 APR base they are quickly overshadowed by other melee characters. In order to make a single class cleric work in BG2 you need to focus more on casting spells. Don't look at them as "warrior priests" and think of them more as buffing mages. Use their rounds in combat buffing your allies, debuffing your foes, and dealing what damage they can. Cleric's are alright, and I personally hate going through either game without one, but their usefullness does drop off the further you get into the games. I'd personally play a Fighter/Cleric multi or Fighter - > Cleric dual class, best of both worlds.
In the end it really comes down to personal preference.
For a Fighter --> Cleric dual... what is the best course of action? At what level is the best to dual into Cleric?
If you plan to Dual class just remember that as a fighter->cleric dual class you are restricted to using weapons that a cleric can use, so if you put proficiency points into Bastard Sword, for example, those points will be useless once you dual to cleric. Good weapon options are flails (flail of ages is astoundingly good) and Warhammers. I'd also suggest selecting Two Weapon Proficiency.
One idea you might consider is a bit weird, but you could dual to fighter with a Cleric of Lathander. Priest HLA are pretty underwhelming imho, and really, you will have a veritable mountain of spells if you took 18 wis (end up at 23 or 24 iirc) for buffing. Then again, it'll take awhile to get your abilities back, but you would be an excellent clericy fighter. Lathander is very actively anti-evil, so it fits good with your theme.
A FC multi is a great tank, try dwarf maybe. Saving throws will be epic!
Can anyone tell me why single-class Clerics get so bad compared to arcane casters? They have different utility, and they can also wade into battle much better than their robe-wearing counterparts. Is that just not very useful at some point?
Also, I'm not worried about being the most overpowered class available, but being the protagonist and party leader, I feel that I should at least be a powerful character, and not feel 2nd rate in my own party.
You could try a pure Cleric of Lathander, you get a very strong selfbuff for it.
Cleric of Lathander is better in melee than many, due to an extra apr. At pretty high levels, you can probably buff up and just dualwield, giving 3 apr. If you use def of Eadthaven offhand, you wont hit often but will be crazy durable with AoF. I dont remember how haste interscts with the Lathander buff, might be worth checking.
Well, Inquisitors don't have any spellcasting ability outside of their innate abilities. But paladins in general cast priest spells 8 levels lower than what a cleric would get for their level. So a level 13 paladin casts their spells as though they were a level 5 cleric. They really are more of a warrior than a caster. They can however use bladed weapons (Carsomyr is one example) and things like bows/crossbows, as well as a few items restricted to paladins.
As for being obsolete, Armor of Faith (level 1 spell) is not going to start out being very strong for them but eventually it will be. Draw Upon Holy Might (level 2) is another good spell that will work well throughout bg2.
(to use a later example)
At level 20
Regeneration grants 18 health/round healing.
Armor of Faith gives you up to 25% physical damage resistances (Defender of Easthaven can boost this up to 45%). At 25% that means you have to take over 24 damage/round before you'll take any net damage (over 32 with 45% resistance). That isn't counting any healing potions you use or even your ability to quickly cast Greater Restoration on yourself.
You definitely won't have the attacks per round as a fighter. You can get 6 APR thanks to Improved Haste, 2 weapon style, and Boon of Lathander. Considering however that you'll have 25 strength regardless of what weapon you use your damage can actually be surprisingly good considering you aren't a warrior.
Flail of Ages +3 = 8-13 damage +14 (strength) + 2.5 (average increase from casting Righteous Magic) + 1 (boon) = 25.5 - 30.5 damage/hit.
4 APR with the flail = 28x4 or 112 damage/round
Defender of Easthaven = 5-10 damage + 14 (strength) + 2.5 (righteous magic) + 1 (boon) = 22.5 - 27.5 damage/hit. 2 APR with it means about another 50 damage/round.
You are much less likely to hit with your offhand weapon but even just the damage with your main weapon is far more than is necessary. Most enemies won't be able to survive for long if you are doing 100+damage/round to them.
The other thing is that if you bring your character over from BGEE you'll likely start with 19 strength, so with that its pretty easy to get 25 strength provided you have access to level 5 spells.
Holy Power (4th level spell) is a spell that will also give you the same thac0 progression as a fighter of your level. So while your Thac0 won't be as good as a fighters, and you will lack very useful fighter HLA's like Critical Strike, you can still be very effective as a melee character in the game.
Would there be any benefit to going Helm instead of Lathander?
By the way, thank you to everyone who has replied and been so helpful.... amazing community.
That said it is a much better kit in BGEE than lathander because (despite its description) its ability lasts for 60 seconds until level 11 (at which point it increases in duration by a round/level) and it gives +4 thac0 to hit. You basically can start out as a fighter with the kit. Better in fact if you dual wielding because you can have 4 APR leaving candlekeep without any penalties to your Thac0. The Boon of Lathander on the otherhand does only last for 1 round/level, so its starting duration is pretty short by comparison.
I also feel that a Cleric is the most essential character in D&D, even if most people would rather sling spells or whack things with huge swords. I love playing support classes... what can I say?
Thank you everyone for your input and your help. Any other suggestions on some of the best ways to use my cleric to thwart enemy mages are welcome!!
EDIT: I originally started playing the game as a Druid (Avenger), but just felt like I had so few good spells. I felt mostly underpowered, except for casting Web on every encounter and letting my party pick them off with bows.
Clerics are also decent tanks throughout the whole Baldur's Gate Saga thanks to some of their buffs and their ability to wear heavy armor and shields. They don't have Iron skins or stoneskin like Druids, FM, or blades, but the fighter classes don't get these spell either.
But yeah, its not remotely a melee class until you can shapeshift.
Clerics are good tanks, but not so hot damage dealers!
I've slowly come to the opinion that the role of a high level cleric is to stand behind the warriors and cast buffs with the occasional attack spell at the right target. Unless you multiclass, in which case your options open up dramatically.
Once you get holy power, you should have no problem hitting any enemy with Seeking Sword.
The Thac0 gain isn't a bug. Its intended (and at the very least the BGEE description for the ability mentions it).
"The sword is considered a +4 weapon for purposes of determining what it can hit (but this bonus does not apply to attack or damage rolls)..."
Again, I am fine with it the way it is and hesitant to bring it up lest it changes, but what it says is a bit misleading. The way I understand it is that it can hit Kangaxx, et al that are immune to +3 and below, but it does not provide a bonus to THACO (attack rolls).