Classes that are uniquely fun in IWD:EE

The_Reverend

So I just finished my first runthrough of IWD:EE with the following party:

Human - Cavalier
Gnome - Fighter/Thief
Dwarven Defender
Dwarf - Cleric of Tempus
Elf - Dragon Disciple
Half-Elf - Bard (vanilla)

I put this party together based on my experience with the original IWD and my general preferences. (I'm much more strategy-minded than role-playing oriented.) It was a hell of a lot of fun, and was pretty adept at handling anything that was thrown my way.

I'm going to start up a second runthrough and mix up the party roster with classes I haven't played yet. I'm personally a fan of both single-class kits and non-human races, and I tend to avoid dual-classing. Are there any kits that people had a great time with they'd recommend giving a shot? I know offhand that my party will have:

1. Avenger
2. Archer
3. Ranger/Cleric

The rest are very much up for grabs. I'm especially curious if people enjoyed any of the single-class thief kits, since I usually avoid those.

deltago

Shadowdancer is fun imo but you may need another thief in your party to make it worth while.

elminster

The_Reverend said:

The rest are very much up for grabs. I'm especially curious if people enjoyed any of the single-class thief kits, since I usually avoid those.

If you don't like the kits provided by IWDEE there are always mods as well. For instance there is Scales of Balance, that has a few thief kits.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/86011511/README-SoB.html

https://github.com/subtledoctor/ScalesOfBalance/archive/2.8.3.zip


Not to mention my own mod A Frosty Journey.

http://www.shsforums.net/files/file/1099-a-frosty-journey-the-iwdee-kitpack/


Personally I've played the game through with a Shadowdancer. I can't say I'd recommend it because I found that a lot of enemies are able to follow you around even when you are invisible. So it gets kind of annoying.

The_Reverend

Awesome - thanks for the mod links @elminster. That definitely helps diversify the thief offerings.

Tad_Has_A_Cold_Olive

Make your Avenger an elf, since they're allowed to be Druids in IWDEE. Might as well, right?

Skatan

The_Reverend said:

The rest are very much up for grabs. I'm especially curious if people enjoyed any of the single-class thief kits, since I usually avoid those.

Haven't played any mods adding kits, but out of the vanilla kits I'd go with a BH. Scout ahead, lay traps and then fire arrows on enemies as they lumber towards your ambush. Backstabbing just isn't worth the hassle in IWD, IMHO. Sure, killing of a few sentries can be fun every now and then, but you can do that just fine with any ranged char anyways (I used the Archer kit for that).

EDIT: Just realized you didn't want to know which sc thief was the best but if they were actually worth having and playing. I would say no to this. The BH is the least poor choice (after swashie) for a SC thief, but I wouldn't bother with either unless you really want to have one.
If you don't have any other thief, then a C/T or M/T could be a good addition. You'll get enough skill points for traps/locks but can still add another value to the party via your other class, cleric or mage respectively. I would go for mage myself as clerics are better off being singleclassed in IWD (stronger turn undead), but you probably already know that.

You also asked for advice on fun singleclass/kits: blackguard is kinda cool with the poison weapon ability and other goodies.

Tomarctus

Well if you're mostly strategy oriented it can be rewarding to play a bounty hunter as stated above. Lure enemies into traps or divide and conquer at higher levels .

toolarg

My party leader was an Inquisitor, finished IWD and HoW, I was surprised to find out that he didnt make much of a difference, unlike in BG.

Ichthyic

yup. very very few enemies use hiding or invisibility. only one I can think of in HOW, and only one area I can think of (the palace in lower dorn's deep).

and of course, both clerics and mages get many ways to pierce invisibility.

as far as dispel magic.. that comes in handy slightly more often.

slightly.

oddly, even with all the undead, I found the Cavalier to be the best paladin kit for IWD.

Blades

toolarg said:

My party leader was an Inquisitor, finished IWD and HoW, I was surprised to find out that he didnt make much of a difference, unlike in BG.

Lack of enemy spell casters make him not as valuable. But his immunities are still a plus.

Undead Hunter was useful for AT bonuses vs. the Dead. Lots of Walkers in this game to battle.

Rangers with cadaverous undead as racial enemy. Skeletal undead for RCs.

Swashy is always fun but I found him squishy late game if not managed correctly.

Shapeshifter will carry you thru many tougher battles though he is less useful as a combatant in the late game.

Cleric of Talos and his Lightning Bolt are nice in the early game.

Half-Orc Barbarian is boss. Give him a 2-Hander, Rage away and watch them fall.

Buffing a Kensai for survivability while he dual wields can be pretty nasty.

kellcl

I like swashbuckler the best as my thief. Swashbuckler retains all the necessary and nice thieving skills while adding melee capability. I rarely bother with backstabbing even in bg series.

Juris

Try an Assassin (using 3e rules) - takes a lot of work but there's a number of items which increase the number of attacks. You'll definitely want to give him boots of speed so he can zip around backstabbing

And of course Wild Mages and Barbarians are a blast

T2av

Solo a barbarian.

BelgarathMTH

If you toggle on 3E sneak attack, thieves get a little more awesome in IWD with their backstabbing ability. They don't have to be stealthed or invisible, they only have to get behind the target. Once a target has been sneak attacked, the thief is allowed to disengage and sneak attack *another* target, which is very, very useful in IWD mobs.

The only drawback is that you can't sneak attack the same target more than once.

Quartz

I like to role-play for classes in Icewind Dale especially, since you know that almost any class is gonna be pretty damn solid and get you through the game. I've been surprised at times how effective certain characters are in Icewind Dale who wouldn't be as epic in Baldur's Gate. With a little common sense it's pretty hard to go wrong. I do always find that having a Barbarian along is good fun and good flavor.

Grum

Barbarian
Berserker
Berserker-thief dual
Shapeshifter
Sorcerer
Skald

The party of the north! Quite different from your last one. Your party was mostly defensive. This one stacks up on offense. Make liberal use half-orcs to get that str19, and hack a bloody path through icewind dale.

ShapiroKeatsDarkMage

My current party is:

A female human Undead Hunter.
A female dwarf Fighter/Cleric.
A female half-elf Avenger(assemble).
A male human assassin.
A male human Bard.
A male human Dragon Disciple.

DrHappyAngry

I had one party with
Blackguard leader
Elven Fighter/Mage
Dwarven Defender, mainly sticking with axes. Pretty boss, since there's 2 handed axes.
Elven Red Dragon Disciple
Halfling Assassin, using darts of course. He tore up anything that wasn't undead with poison darts.
Half Orc Fighter/Cleric.

My good party was
Undead Hunter leader
Elven Archer, this guy had the highest kill count. Seriously tore through everything.
Half Elven Fighter/Druid
Gnome Illusionist/Thief
Elven Sorcerer
Half Elven Skald

The Archer kit turned out to be one of the most surprisingly powerful to me. He does have some trouble with those skeletal undead, but my undead hunter was more than happy to handle those. Assassin's pretty decent, and undead hunter's clearly a nice choice too. WIth those 2 handed axes, dwarven defenders have an option not available in the bg games, which is nice.

Kenji

Fallen Archer and Fallen Paladin: gimped classes with no special powers makes the difficulty even harder and brings a flavor to RP

KingGhidorah

Currently in Heart of Winter with my 'HoF from level 1' party:

Half Elf - F/M/C
Dwarf - Ranger/Cleric (yes i know, illegal and all)
Human - Swashbuckler (3)/Cleric dual (maxed find traps and then switched to cleric to quickly get animate dead)
Human - Sorcerer

So far, the Sorcerer surprised me the most. In the BG series I used sorcerers mainly as a damage dealer and debuffer. In IWD:EE he has taken on the role of summoner and support caster.

The two melee types took a while to become actually useful in a fight and acted primary as casters in the first half of the game while the summons did the fighting.

The cleric is the only one in the party who has reached max level. She acts like you expect, buffing and healing and popping undead with the turn ability. In addition, her swashy levels make her the trap disarmer of the group.

OlvynChuru

The classes I find really fun to play are:

Kensai (no dual class, just pure kensai)
Beast Master
Stalker
Avenger
Totemic Druid
Priest of Lathander
Priest of Talos
Skald
Assassin
Bounty Hunter

Grum

(1) Dwarven Defender: In BG there aren't many pieces of equipment that have synergy with the kit. In IWD, there are several shields/items that give damage resistance, which when combined with a dwarven defender, make him into a beast.

25% DR by the end of the game. 50% DR from defensive stance.
Great Shield: 15% DR
Ring of Greater Resistance: 25% crushing DR
Ring of Missile Deflection: 10% Missile DR
Clasp of Bron's Cloak: 5% DR
Bone Marrow Belt: 50% slashing DR, -15% Crushing DR
The Glory of Suffering (armor): 10% DR, -25 HP (you'll have enough HP anyways)

And if you are *really* lucky...
Warhammer +4: Defender (15% DR! And +3 save vs spells to boot)

Add that all up?

Without activating anything:

70% resistance to all damage
80% crushing resistance + missile resistance
100% resistance to slashing damage

When activated?
100% DR with just defensive stance

That is just...amazingly awesome.

IWD lets you have a dwarf warrior be a real tank. Put him in front of the enemy, have him plant his feet, and watch them break like waves on the shore. Sure, the great shield loses some THACO, and the armor loses some HP, but who cares about that when with the click of a button you take no damage at all? Add in shorty saves against the few spells out there, and you have a monster in your hands.

(2) Fighter/Thief

Why? Longsword of action +4 (+1 attack!, 15% slashing resistance, +1 AC)
Ring of the Warrior Thief (+1 Str, +1 attack!)
Keylessa's Gloves (+1 AC, +1 Dex)

A fighter/thief who can really dish out the pain. Hide in the shadows, backstab, and then go to town with as many attacks as a single class fighter.

To make it even better...the longsword gives 15% DR to slashing. There are several leather armor pieces that give 15-20% slashing resistance. Add in as a final note Tiernon's Shield for 10% DR with 15% extra when activated, and your Fighter/Thief can stand toe-to-toe with many enemies and come out on top.

(3) Bard

Enjoy how bards have several good songs to sing in IWD, unlike in Baldur's Gate. Everything from bonus damage, luck for everyone, to HP regeneration.

(4) Skald

This is a combat heavy game. Skalds make your warriors even better.

(5) Archer

Messenger of Seth. You are guaranteed to get the bow, unlike many of the other great items in the game. The extra attack when firing is great when combined with called shot.

(6) Druid

They have different (and in some cases, better) spells when compared to Baldur's Gate.

Wowo

Grum said:

(1) Dwarven Defender: In BG there aren't many pieces of equipment that have synergy with the kit. In IWD, there are several shields/items that give damage resistance, which when combined with a dwarven defender, make him into a beast.

25% DR by the end of the game. 50% DR from defensive stance.
Great Shield: 15% DR
Ring of Greater Resistance: 25% crushing DR
Ring of Missile Deflection: 10% Missile DR
Clasp of Bron's Cloak: 5% DR
Bone Marrow Belt: 50% slashing DR, -15% Crushing DR
The Glory of Suffering (armor): 10% DR, -25 HP (you'll have enough HP anyways)

And if you are *really* lucky...
Warhammer +4: Defender (15% DR! And +3 save vs spells to boot)

Add that all up?

Without activating anything:

70% resistance to all damage
80% crushing resistance + missile resistance
100% resistance to slashing damage

When activated?
100% DR with just defensive stance

That is just...amazingly awesome.

IWD lets you have a dwarf warrior be a real tank. Put him in front of the enemy, have him plant his feet, and watch them break like waves on the shore. Sure, the great shield loses some THACO, and the armor loses some HP, but who cares about that when with the click of a button you take no damage at all? Add in shorty saves against the few spells out there, and you have a monster in your hands.

(2) Fighter/Thief

Why? Longsword of action +4 (+1 attack!, 15% slashing resistance, +1 AC)
Ring of the Warrior Thief (+1 Str, +1 attack!)
Keylessa's Gloves (+1 AC, +1 Dex)

A fighter/thief who can really dish out the pain. Hide in the shadows, backstab, and then go to town with as many attacks as a single class fighter.

To make it even better...the longsword gives 15% DR to slashing. There are several leather armor pieces that give 15-20% slashing resistance. Add in as a final note Tiernon's Shield for 10% DR with 15% extra when activated, and your Fighter/Thief can stand toe-to-toe with many enemies and come out on top.

(3) Bard

Enjoy how bards have several good songs to sing in IWD, unlike in Baldur's Gate. Everything from bonus damage, luck for everyone, to HP regeneration.

(4) Skald

This is a combat heavy game. Skalds make your warriors even better.

(5) Archer

Messenger of Seth. You are guaranteed to get the bow, unlike many of the other great items in the game. The extra attack when firing is great when combined with called shot.

(6) Druid

They have different (and in some cases, better) spells when compared to Baldur's Gate.

In EE you can actually get over 100% resistance so you end up being healed as a DD. That said, I'd prefer a Druid in beetle or water elemental form to tank as a DD gives up so much offense.

Ring of the Warrior-Thief and Warhammer +4: Defender are both impossible to get afaik in EE.

The best bow for an archer is the Longbow +4: Hammer but it's tricky to get and involves consequences ...

Kaylessa' gloves are really bad compared to other items that she might drop like the elven chain. Unless your totally adverse to it I'd item fish her until you make sure that you get that armour.

Some good points overall

semiticgoddess

I have a fighter in IWD:EE using the Messenger of Sseth and despite being level 10 and having two pips in shortbows, she only has 3 APR--same as a thief with the same weapon. The APR bonus isn't stacking with fighter APR progression.

Wowo

semiticgod said:

I have a fighter in IWD:EE using the Messenger of Sseth and despite being level 10 and having two pips in shortbows, she only has 3 APR--same as a thief with the same weapon. The APR bonus isn't stacking with fighter APR progression.

I just checked and my FMT has the correct 4 APR on latest version for iOS (or at least the display window says that).

brunardo

agree with DD, Skald, And archer for sure...got to have a druid for IWD too

Wowo

brunardo said:

agree with DD, Skald, And archer for sure...got to have a druid for IWD too

Is it actually fun to constantly have to manage ammunition though? I'd describe it as more of a necessary evil that I am more than pleased to do away with once characters can fend for themselves in melee.

Skatan

Wowo said:

brunardo said:

agree with DD, Skald, And archer for sure...got to have a druid for IWD too

Is it actually fun to constantly have to manage ammunition though? I'd describe it as more of a necessary evil that I am more than pleased to do away with once characters can fend for themselves in melee.

I use normal arrows for 99% of all battles with an archer. The ammobelt can be aquired easily and stacked with arrows in between quests and it last for a full dungeon crawl. I don't play HoF though, for that I've heard that it takes thousands of arrows per crawl with sounds pretty boring to me.

Also, it sounds weird that you @semiticgod don't get the +1 APR with your fighter and Sseth. According to this thread though, it may be due to scales of balance mod. Do you use mods?

https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/37439/not-an-issue-messenger-of-sseth-displays-incorrect-number-of-attacks-round

Wowo

Skatan said:

Wowo said:

brunardo said:

agree with DD, Skald, And archer for sure...got to have a druid for IWD too

Is it actually fun to constantly have to manage ammunition though? I'd describe it as more of a necessary evil that I am more than pleased to do away with once characters can fend for themselves in melee.

I use normal arrows for 99% of all battles with an archer. The ammobelt can be aquired easily and stacked with arrows in between quests and it last for a full dungeon crawl. I don't play HoF though, for that I've heard that it takes thousands of arrows per crawl with sounds pretty boring to me.

Also, it sounds weird that you @semiticgod don't get the +1 APR with your fighter and Sseth. According to this thread though, it may be due to scales of balance mod. Do you use mods?

https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/37439/not-an-issue-messenger-of-sseth-displays-incorrect-number-of-attacks-round

Ah yes, ammo belts don't work so well on touch screens. It's been fixed for bg1 I think but have to wait for other games to be patched.

Skatan

Wowo said:

Ah yes, ammo belts don't work so well on touch screens. It's been fixed for bg1 I think but have to wait for other games to be patched.

Aha ok. Have planned to purchase the games for my Ipad for when traveling etc but have never played them on a tablet so didn't know that.

GamingFreak

Sun Soul Monks are really fun in IWDEE, with or without mods. Especially once you get the soul beam abilities and whatnot. Basically blast all the undead with cone-based attacks. Plus there's a few pieces of equipment that they can wear to make them so much better in a fight, such as the Shimmering Sash for the constant blur effect.

With a certain mod they lose those blast-type abilities, but focus more on raw anti-undead/fire damage strikes.

I thought Kensai would be more fun in IWDEE but due to the high amount of mobs, it's a real struggle unless you opt to dual class to a mage to get protection spells.