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If playing a bounty hunter as main... and a few other questions resting, f/m/t etc

I still haven't played through BG1:EE yet (have a few classes started there), and I'm liking the concept of a bounty hunter... stealthy, still can backstab, and tons of traps. Whatever I build in BG1 I'm wanting to cary over into BG2 so posting in this forum.

My questions are...
1) How many traps do you end up with as the game progresses? I don't mind resting a lot early to get my traps back (although it seems sort of weak.. but I guess not much weaker than a magic user doing the same?) Later on, are you so full with traps that resting is not really an issue?

2) Not BH specific, but resting in general - Is there a penalty for just ending the resting animation early. I can start to rest then just click and I'm done resting and it seems like I received the full affect for resting? That's nice if that's the case, but if there isn't a penalty for resting (other than certain timed quests) I would think this would be so easy to abuse? I would think the resting animation would have to complete its cycle to at least make resting annoying to do.

3) F/T or F>T... I don't need a long discussion about which is better (since that has come up a lot in my research), but I am curious with changing armor... I would think as F/T does it get annoying using your thief abilities in one set of armor and then switching out to something like plate for melee?

4) Out of curiosity how viable is playing F/M/T in a party if the goal of this char is to be a back-stabbing/trap-finding/setting thief with a lit bit of buffed melee strength when needed. I was thinking the benefit here is that I could use some mage abilities (invisibility) to augment my low skill in sneaking for backstabbing. Later on when backstab isn't as useful switch over to sitting back with offensive or buff/debuff spells and act like a weaker F/M. The drawback of course being very slow leveling especially with a party (but I wouldn't minding grinding some on the side while I break up the party if need be.)
lolien

Comments

  • MusignyMusigny Member Posts: 1,027
    edited January 2015
    Hi,

    1) This is explained in the Character Generation page when you select the bounty hunter class.
    For both 'set snare' and 'set special snare' : gains one use at level 1 and an additional use every 5 levels thereafter.
    +HLAs traps (XP > 3M)

    2) No.

    3) Heavy armours prevent you from using your thieving skills. You can continue using your thieving skills while wearing the other types of armour, with penalties though.

    4) Deadly in a solo game - much less impressive in a full 6 member party (relative lack of XP resulting in a distribution of medium levels for the three classes). Full continuum in-between.

    Edit: please have a look at https://forum.baldursgate.com/discussion/39041/the-solo-no-reload-adventures-of-norgath-dwarven-bounty-hunter-of-candlekeep
    Post edited by Musigny on
    BlackravenJuliusBorisov
  • lunarlunar Member Posts: 3,460
    3-you can still detect traps and illusions while wearing heavy armor. You can not disarm them or use other thief skills like pickpockets and open locks. You can set traps, however.
    BlackravenMusignyjackjackJuliusBorisov
  • mumumomomumumomo Member Posts: 635
    Regarding slow progession of FMT
    They will actually never be very far of a FT multi.
    Before 3mxp they will be 1-2 levels lower than a FT. The mage levels more than compensate this.

    For that reason, whatever the size of you group the FMT is a better choice than a FT.
    FinneousPJ
  • DreadKhanDreadKhan Member Posts: 3,857
    After BG1, there is WAY less incentive to wear Fighter armour over thief... the AC difference is not pronounced enough usually, and you will spend more time in thief gear. That said, having the option is nice, and I would consider it vs certain enemies maybe, especially if you are not opening with a BS from a FT. Generally, it will be better to have a fighter-type use the heavy armour in BG2, and in ToB, your armour option is about the best anyways.
    Blackravenjackjack
  • WowoWowo Member Posts: 2,064
    There's pretty much always an armour choice that is almost as good as full plate but allows thief skills.

    FMT is absolutely the most impressive and fun build. Yes, at some points it lags a little in a full party but a min maxed bhaalspawn is so far ahead of other characters anyway that you are still definitely winning and the build absolutely shines in exactly the ways that you want.

    No armour issues with the FMT either as you can just cast shield or spirit armour on yourself. First few levels of bg1 i tend to go with armour though.
    FinneousPJ
  • BlackravenBlackraven Member Posts: 3,486
    edited January 2015
    1) If you were to reach level 36, you'd have 8 regular and 8 special Bounty Hunter traps per day. In a full party, gaining that level is feasible but not a given, so you might end up with one less trap of each type. If you take into account that 7 regular traps can kill any foe but the toughest, I'd say the Bounty Hunter won't be lacking in the traps department. Besides, as said before, they also get plenty of HLA traps to pick.
    It's furthermore important to keep in mind that both the regular traps and the BH's special traps grow more powerful with levels, so considering the viability of traps throughout the game is not only a matter of quantity but also one of quality. The special traps and their development are mentioned in the kit description. The regular traps are a bit more mysterious, but Chris Lee's excellent Thief Guide (a worthwhile read not only for its traps section) documents the regular traps' progress:
    Level 6 Trap: Deals 2d8+5 damage to any enemies within the area of effect of the Trap when it goes off. This is non-magical damage so Magic Resistence can't stop it (as is the same for all initial damage of later Traps).
    Level 11 Trap: Deals 2d8+5 damage to any enemies within the area of effect of the Trap when it goes off. In addition, for the next three rounds, it deals 2d6 poison damage per round (hence resistence or vulnerability to poison also affects the damage). In addition, this extra damage also disrupts spell casting (like Melf's Acid Arrow).
    Level 16 Trap: Deals 3d8+5 damage plus 4d8+2 fire damage to any enemies within the area of effect of the Trap when it goes off. Like poison, any vulnerability or resistence to fire also effects the extra damage. Level 21 Trap: Deals 3d8+5 damage plus 20 poison damage to any enemies within the area of effect of the Trap when it goes off. Plus, enemies must Save vs Death with a +4 bonus or die instantly. Again, the poison damage can be reduced or increased according to resistence/vulnerability.

    This guide was written for vanilla Baldur's Gate (SoA), but I think the EE traps behave in the same manner. Not sure what damage they do at levels 1-5 though. My guess is 1d8+5.

    3) Personally, I don't like switching armor all the time, and prefer to have my Thief clad in light armor at all times. There are good armors in BG1, SoA and ToB that will allow your Thief or Fighter/Thief to use thieving skills without it making your character very vulnerable. In BG1 there are various items that modify your AC against missile attacks (the most dangerous type of attacks in that game), taking away the need for heavy armor, unless you want to frontline a lot, in which case you'd be playing te character as a warrior rather than a rogue.

    4) F/M/T is a very fun, powerful and versatile class, but like @Musigny, I find them most enjoyable in solo runs or in a small party of say 3 people.
    jackjackMusignyJuliusBorisov
  • FinneousPJFinneousPJ Member Posts: 6,455
    Running FMT in full party is no problem.
  • rickcrrickcr Member Posts: 77
    thanks everyone! The F/M/T seems very appealing to me as I read more about it. My reasoning for F/M/T seems to rest on (from what I'm reading) a F/T late game relies more on melee vs backstabbing (with so man immune to it) ... and a M/T would probably end up more as a secondary caster, with just some thief utility (find traps, etc) as a side benefit. It at least appears to me that the F/M/T would hold more power overall... being able to switch to a melee fighter buffed from mage spells late game... yet still with some thief abilities for good measure.

    I have a bounty hunter started but it seems like for me to really enjoy this class particularly (over another thief kit) I really need to leveraging their traps - which I certainly enjoy doing... it just feels goofy having to rest all the time to get them back. Then again, with no penalty for resting, I guess it's not a big deal (although it does break the RPG experience a bit.)
    FinneousPJ
  • MusignyMusigny Member Posts: 1,027
    rickcr said:

    I have a bounty hunter started but it seems like for me to really enjoy this class particularly (over another thief kit) I really need to leveraging their traps - which I certainly enjoy doing... it just feels goofy having to rest all the time to get them back. Then again, with no penalty for resting, I guess it's not a big deal (although it does break the RPG experience a bit.)

    Play the game and try different characters, this is important. Too many players have a big plan for a big character but in the short term they give up. Such a disappointment occurs when reality does not match expectation.

    One more comment on mage combos. Do not overlook the spell progression table.
    BlackravenjackjackJuliusBorisov
  • SkatanSkatan Member, Moderator Posts: 5,352
    Musigny said:



    Play the game and try different characters, this is important. Too many players have a big plan for a big character but in the short term they give up. Such a disappointment occurs when reality does not match expectation.

    Both true and untrue. I often metagame for hours, planning my charname and party, then start and even though my character kicks ass, almost immediately lose interest due to already having my head wrapped up around a new idea of a character and party. Restartis syndrome may not be due reality not matching expectation, rather it's about the almost limitless possibilities for fantastic charnames BG2 offers!

    Sometimes I almost wish I only had like fighter, thief, cleric and mage to choose from so that I wouldn't be inclined to try the gazillion possible charnames!

    OP:
    2) I use to feel like that I got a lot more ambushes when I clicked during resting, but I guess it was just in my head.

    3) Yeah, it is annoying IMHO. Stick to light armor. Depending on your party you may want to have a plate or something for those occasions you wanna throw your F/T into the fray, but it's not necessary. Depends on your playstyle. Also, I prefer MC over DC, so I would pick F/T over F->T.
    jackjack
  • pixie359pixie359 Member Posts: 251
    re 3) You can't change during combat anyway, so either you metagame and change when you know there is a battle coming up, or accept that the FT is a little softer, and treat them as such. There are decent studded armours available, so you won't be too far behind a fighter in plate.
    jackjackBlackravenSkatan
  • CField17CField17 Member Posts: 122
    pixie359 said:

    re 3) You can't change during combat anyway, so either you metagame and change when you know there is a battle coming up, or accept that the FT is a little softer, and treat them as such. There are decent studded armours available, so you won't be too far behind a fighter in plate.

    You can change during combat in the EE versions

    jackjack
  • jackjackjackjack Member Posts: 3,251
    CField17 said:

    pixie359 said:

    re 3) You can't change during combat anyway, so either you metagame and change when you know there is a battle coming up, or accept that the FT is a little softer, and treat them as such. There are decent studded armours available, so you won't be too far behind a fighter in plate.

    You can change during combat in the EE versions

    That's funny, I can't.
    SkatanlolienJuliusBorisov
  • CField17CField17 Member Posts: 122
    jackjack said:

    CField17 said:

    pixie359 said:

    re 3) You can't change during combat anyway, so either you metagame and change when you know there is a battle coming up, or accept that the FT is a little softer, and treat them as such. There are decent studded armours available, so you won't be too far behind a fighter in plate.

    You can change during combat in the EE versions

    That's funny, I can't.
    oh, I thought you could.

    jackjacklolienJuliusBorisov
  • SkatanSkatan Member, Moderator Posts: 5,352
    Nope, You can't.
    JuliusBorisov
  • CField17CField17 Member Posts: 122
    I really thought you could
    jackjacklolienJuliusBorisov
  • SkatanSkatan Member, Moderator Posts: 5,352
    Ugh.. must resist... urge.. to continue.. replying.
    lolienJuliusBorisovjackjack
  • pixie359pixie359 Member Posts: 251
    But, importantly, can you? I think you can't.
    JuliusBorisovjackjack
  • SkatanSkatan Member, Moderator Posts: 5,352
    Nope, I can't. :(
    JuliusBorisovjackjacklolien
  • FinneousPJFinneousPJ Member Posts: 6,455
    Mate, you really can't.
    JuliusBorisovBlackravenMusignyjackjack
  • BlackravenBlackraven Member Posts: 3,486
    Lol are we sure here?
    MusignyJuliusBorisovjackjack
  • SkatanSkatan Member, Moderator Posts: 5,352
    Yes, we're sure.
    JuliusBorisov
  • jackjackjackjack Member Posts: 3,251
    And there goes the thread. Wherever it falls, there shall it be buried XD
    Musignylolien
  • CField17CField17 Member Posts: 122
    But I'm still not sure I cant
    FinneousPJjackjack
  • SkatanSkatan Member, Moderator Posts: 5,352
    *quitely exits the thread and let it die out.. but probably by mistake starts it again.*
    lolien
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