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Stuck as a Dual-Classed Solo Kensai/Thief (Currently Only a Thief)..Help!

OK. So I completed the first Baldur's Gate with no problems at all as a solo Kensai. I was actually amazed at how easy it was, especially as I play on "Hard" difficulty. I imported my character over into the second one and completed the first dungeon as a Kensai to get to level 13. Once I reached level 13, I dual-classed into a Thief just before I left the dungeon. Once I left, I got to level 6 straight away and I thought "Ah, great! Should be plenty of quests to get those levels up quickly!"

This is where the game became insanely hard. I quickly learned that A. I can't wear any armor, even as a pure Thief without the Kensai part, B. My THAC0 is TERRIBLE, C. I can't use short bows to make battles even a tiny bit easier for my woeful Thief, and D. There are very few non-violent quests to at least pick up some experience and avoid having to send my Thief into certain death against powerful warriors.

Can someone offer me some tips here? What advice can you give to someone using a solo Thief in this game? I know I'm going to be an absolute beast once I get my Kensai back, but the Thief part is painful. That's putting it lightly.
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Comments

  • BlackravenBlackraven Member Posts: 3,486
    Wow @semiticgod, you leave me very little to add :)
    In sum @wraith5641, you'll want to resolve every non-violent quest and every puzzle. (For the puzzles stealth and perhaps the Ring of Air Control, as an emergency stealth option, are invaluable. An example: solving the riddles regarding the Amanautar rituals in the Umar Hills will net you 45,000 XP alone, but you'll need stealth to get there.)

    You could also consider buying and quaffing a couple of potions of master thievery (the effects stack), to steal everything in Athkatla that can be of use, such as potions, including explosives, green scrolls, weaponry, Ribald's regeneration ring and Tolgerias' Ring of the Ram, and in Trademeet an Efreeti bottle from the Genie outside the Genie tent. You can even steal less useful but valuable items and sell them to fences to generate gold so you can buy things at shops that cannot be stolen from.

    Besides the safe Trademeet Druids quest, I think the Temple Ruins should be safe for your Thief to negotiate. All you need is, say, 4 green scrolls of Protection from Undead and an enchanted weapon. Use one scroll inside the temple, and 2 or 3 (depending on how fast you are) when dealing with the Shade Lord, Shadow Patrick and the Altar).
    The Skinner murder quest doesn't strictly require you to fight. Just go downstairs, let Vellin Dahn threaten you, and rush back upstairs and out of the building to report to Lieutenant Aegisfield.

    These quests and all the non-violent ones (in addition to those mentioned by semiticgod, you could do the Sir Sarles quest in the Gov district, and the Paladin/orphan quest in the Graveyard District) will yield your characters a few hundred thousand XP. Not enough to get your Kensai levels back, but a very good basis for your Thief to be able to hold their own.
  • ArunsunArunsun Member Posts: 1,592
    As long as you are under the potion of master thievery effect, lock pick and disarm every door and trap upstairs Maevar's guild. This should give you decent XP
  • SkatanSkatan Member, Moderator Posts: 5,352
    I still play on an older patch (pre 1.3) due to not having internet on that computer, but back then you could:

    1: Buy potions of master thievery and potions of insight.
    2: Add one arcane user, like Jan, who needs no quest or fights to join.
    3: Steal every scroll in Athkathla.
    4: Let Jan read scrolls 'til you reach your desired level.
    5: Kick Jan, rule the world.

    Not sure if this is still valid in the newer patches, correct me if I am wrong.
  • FinneousPJFinneousPJ Member Posts: 6,455
    @Skatan It should still work, but it's not a valid solo obviously.
  • SkatanSkatan Member, Moderator Posts: 5,352

    @Skatan It should still work, but it's not a valid solo obviously.

    Stupid me, forgot the thread was about pure solo. @wraith5641, just ignore what I wrote.
  • wraith5641wraith5641 Member Posts: 500
    Ah, thank you all for your replies. Your advice is very much appreciated :)

    Yeah, I guess using potions of MT would benefit me hugely. However, there aren't an infinite number of those, so I don't want to waste every potion I have right away. I'll probably go to a particular location and set about unlocking locks and disarming traps for some easy XP. As for pick-pocketing, Ribald would be definitely be my main focus.

    I will start off by getting that shield amulet, as I remember it being a Godsend for my Kensai in the first game. I will wander around a couple of dungeons with invisibility and see what useful items and potions I can find, and set about disarming some of those traps too.

    Once I have gained a couple of levels (Up to level 9), I will attempt the Copper Coronet quest where you expose Lehtinan. If I get to level 10 by the time the quest is over, I will attempt to fight those warriors at the inn in Waukeen's Promenade. It will be tough, but with some efficient kiting and trap-using, I should be OK. IIRC, one of those warriors has a ring of invisibility on him. Very useful piece of gear.

    After that, I will gradually complete the quests in Athkatla, going from easiest - hardest. I should find that I get my levels back fairly quickly. Once I have my Kensai back, I'm going after Kangaxx for that lovely ring of his. I have a question, though: Can I still pick-pocket him for two rings like you used to be able to?
  • semiticgoddesssemiticgoddess Member Posts: 14,903
    @wraith5641: About those Promenade warriors: the guy with the Ring of Invisibility will run away if he gets hurt badly, and you'll lose the ring forever. You'll have to kill him quick (maybe a Potion of Firebreath when he starts to run) or block him from reaching the exit. But the Ring of Air Control that Blackraven mentioned can be bought from Ribald and also gives invisibility. And unless EE fixed it, you can buy multiple copies from Ribald.
  • moody_magemoody_mage Member Posts: 2,054
    Is the Boomerang Dagger pickpocketable?
  • lunarlunar Member Posts: 3,460
    decado said:

    Is the Boomerang Dagger pickpocketable?

    Yes
  • wraith5641wraith5641 Member Posts: 500
    @semiticgod Hmmm but is it worth spending lots of money on certain items early on in the game? I can get the Ring of Invisibility for free, and put more money towards potions and green scrolls.
  • semiticgoddesssemiticgoddess Member Posts: 14,903
    @wraith5641: Certainly, if you can get the Ring of Invisibility, do so. It's much cheaper than the Ring of Air Control. The invisibility lasts longer, too. But the Ring of Air Control uses improved invisibility, which means it will protect you from single-target spells, which no other item can do at this stage of the game. It's still a strong investment.

    Potions are certainly useful, but if you don't have the Ring of Invisibility, I strongly recommend getting the RoAC. Unlike Potions of Invisibility, it recharges, allowing you to use it much more freely, without worrying about the supply. But if you don't have much cash, you are in fact better off saving your money for potions, yes. The RoAC is pretty pricy, and you may be better off saving up for it later.
  • wraith5641wraith5641 Member Posts: 500
    @semiticgod Can you still pick-pocket Kangaxx? I feel like having two Rings of Gaxx would be a better combination of rings than any others in the game.
  • semiticgoddesssemiticgoddess Member Posts: 14,903
    @wraith5641: I'm pretty sure Kangaxx can't be pickpocketed in EE or with the latest vanilla patch. Still, that ring really does outshine any others, especially for a Kensai/Thief. But you likely won't get the Ring of Gaxx for a little while longer.
  • ArunsunArunsun Member Posts: 1,592
    I tried to pickpocket Kangaxx with a 255 pickpocket thief. It said that the target has no item pickpocketable by a cut-purse of my skill.
  • wraith5641wraith5641 Member Posts: 500
    @semiticgod Ah, damn! That was one of the best exploits in the original :(
  • wraith5641wraith5641 Member Posts: 500
    @Arunsun Makes sense RPG-wise. What kind of mere mortal would be able to pick-pocket a lich?
  • ArunsunArunsun Member Posts: 1,592
    They also fixed Tolgerias by the way. You can still pickpocket his ring, but if you do so he will not have it in the planar sphere.
  • wraith5641wraith5641 Member Posts: 500
    @Arunsun Don't I need Valygar for that quest anyway? I think you have to bring him dead or alive. Dead isn't an option, because my character is neutral good. Alive isn't an option either, because it's a 100% solo run.
  • ArunsunArunsun Member Posts: 1,592
    @wraith5641 You might still pickpocket him in the council hall though
  • JackOfClubsJackOfClubs Member Posts: 8
    edited May 2015

    you can talk to Guardian Telwyn in the Temple of Helm (or another guy in another temple, depending on who talks to you after you meet Gaal), who will offer you the Sir Sarles quest, which also only has one fight in it. But you need to spend 1000 gold to complete it, which you only get back at the end. The sewers also contain a hidden door to Mekrath's lair, which has some loot and some mephits, along with some Yuan-ti and Mekrath himself, who will probably be too dangerous for your current level.

    You can actually do the Sir Sarles quest without any fighting.
    Just give him the alloy rather than the true illithium. You get much less experience this way, but still enough to raise you to about 5th level in one go.

    I would still spend the money to get the true illithium which will upgrade a useful weapon that you can use once you get your Kensai levels back.


  • wraith5641wraith5641 Member Posts: 500
    @JackOfClubs Thanks for your reply, but I have my Kensai levels back now and I am mid-game :)

    I stopped playing the game for a while, because after I beat Firkraag, I decided that it was so difficult that anything else would pale in comparison challenge-wise. I thought about what I had left to do, and I couldn't see where it would get any harder. That kind of ruined it for me. Maybe there would have been more challenges, but nothing where it would take me 20 reloads like it did Firkraag.

    I half gave up on my solo, and decided to play some new games. I want to start a new multiplayer BG2 playthrough, though.
  • YannirYannir Member Posts: 595
    @wraith5641 You may want to try Watchers Keep. Level 5 kicks like a mule. While I kill dragons of any kind in 1 go, a certain fight there took me 5 reloads. Even some of the other fights killed party members which hasn't happened in a long while.
  • wraith5641wraith5641 Member Posts: 500
    @Yannir Yeah, there are a couple of notable fights in Watcher's Keep that I can imagine would be very difficult for a solo Kensai/Thief. That demon battle on level 3 and the seal battle (which I assume you're talking about) on level 5. In order for me to make those battles as difficult as Firkraag, I'll have to impose some self-limitations. Otherwise, I'll be tempted to use cheesy tactics in order to beat them.
  • kamuizinkamuizin Member Posts: 3,704
    edited May 2015
    dunno in which state this discussion is, but summon can help a bit:

    -Djinn bottle in Trademeet (steal it from the Djinn at the entrance of the Dao's tent.
    -Horn of Vahalla: Upgrade it with an Diamond and a Beljuril in Waukeen Promenade.
    -Black spider figurine from Pai'na in the graveyard district under the tombs (use a potion of explosion there to get rid of the abundant pesky spiders).
    -Stone Golem tome (wacher's keep level 1, you can sneak your way to it i believe)
    -Ring of human influence (for charm) in the circus quest in waukeen's promenade.
    -Nimph's cloak (steal from the merchant on Mae'var guild) for another charm item.


    Also, as a kensai, while you can't equip ranged weapons normally, you can equip any weapon that can be both melee and ranged normally (with some exeptions normally related when the weapon receive the thrower name on it if i'm not wrong). By this i believe you can equip the Azuredge axe (good alignment only purchable in copper coronet). I don't know if you can equip the Hangard's Axe or Rifthome Axe however. I also believe you can equip "The Brick", an +2 war hammer throwable from Neera's quest line (you don't have to put her in party for this i'm pretty sure).


  • YannirYannir Member Posts: 595
    kamuizin said:


    -Stone Golem tome (wacher's keep level 1, you can sneak your way to it i believe)

    It's a Flesh Golem tome. It can be upgraded later but the pages are not in the keep, so it will have to wait for ToB. Personally, I never do the Stone Golem upgrade since the Clay Golem is a lot more useful. It's surprising how few blunt weapons enemies in ToB have. The clay fellow is a perfect tank at that point.
  • kamuizinkamuizin Member Posts: 3,704
    edited May 2015
    Yannir said:

    kamuizin said:


    -Stone Golem tome (wacher's keep level 1, you can sneak your way to it i believe)

    It's a Flesh Golem tome. It can be upgraded later but the pages are not in the keep, so it will have to wait for ToB. Personally, I never do the Stone Golem upgrade since the Clay Golem is a lot more useful. It's surprising how few blunt weapons enemies in ToB have. The clay fellow is a perfect tank at that point.
    Yes, mistook the reference, but for a low level solo fresh from irenicus dungeon, flesh golem is gold. (and the purchable potion case on Watcher's keep entrance and the ammo case in the level 1 watcher's keep are a must have for solo characters).
  • YannirYannir Member Posts: 595
    @kamuizin Well, it's a golem. How could it not be awesome? :smiley:
  • semiticgoddesssemiticgoddess Member Posts: 14,903
    No golem manual for thieves without UAI. You need mage levels or bard levels to use it.
  • kamuizinkamuizin Member Posts: 3,704

    No golem manual for thieves without UAI. You need mage levels or bard levels to use it.

    well... eerrmm, ops!

    .

    .

    .

    Why dual to thief! Why not dual to mage as all the power games!

    XD! Just kidding!
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