Duel-Classing and High Level Abilities

deathgeonous

Quick question. If you duel class form say fighter to mage, when you really get up there in levels, and earn those nice High Level Abilities, will you be considered both a fighter and a mage for earning them, or just a mage?

moody_mage

Just a mage - sadly. Which is one reason why multi-classes are very good at those levels as they get both

Jarrakul

decado has it. Although it's notable that a fighter/mage multi won't get most mage HLAs until very near the end of the game, just because it takes forever for multiclassed mages to get 9th level spells.

deathgeonous

That's what I thought. Sucks, but thems the rules I guess.

GreenWarlock

The other point in favor of multiples is that they start earning HLAs once they hit 3 million total xp across all of their classes. Dual class characters must hit 3 million in the active class, so the more levels you take before dualing (after 9/10ish), the more HLAs you ultimately lose. However, a determined long-term investment dealer could take the first class to 3 million if they are desperate for just that one HLA. Of course, it is a REALLY long time after dualing before you will get to play with it again...

DreadKhan

GreenWarlock said:

The other point in favor of multiples is that they start earning HLAs once they hit 3 million total xp across all of their classes. Dual class characters must hit 3 million in the active class, so the more levels you take before dualing (after 9/10ish), the more HLAs you ultimately lose. However, a determined long-term investment dealer could take the first class to 3 million if they are desperate for just that one HLA. Of course, it is a REALLY long time after dualing before you will get to play with it again...

The only HLA I would seriously consider dualing after is UAI. Nothing else seems worth the hassle, unless you cheat a kit onto the 2nd dual, then it might work out. Maybe. Dualing out of Druid after getting Elemental Form sounds kinda viable, but sounds intriguing if you dual to Kensai!

Nifft

GreenWarlock said:

The other point in favor of multiples is that they start earning HLAs once they hit 3 million total xp across all of their classes.

Also, it seems like multi-class characters gain an HLA for every level of either class. So they get more HLAs and faster HLA progression than even a single-class character would.

Arunsun

@Niffelheim they actually don't (or they do but it is just an additionnal one or two which you will hardly notice in the end). A F/T for example will start getting HLA from 3m exp just like anyone, but he will get 11 from Fighter ( he gets 11 Fighter level before 4m) and 12 from Thief when he gets to 8m exp, which is 23 ( two more than a single class fighter or thief overall).
With the same reasoning, a F/C will get 22 (one more than a single class Fighter or Cleric)
And when you multi a M/C M/T or F/M you actually get something between the number of HLA each class get

Lord_Tansheron

DreadKhan said:

The only HLA I would seriously consider dualing after is UAI.

Interesting fact: if you take UAI, then dual to another class, UAI will remain active throughout, even though your thief levels are inactive. Engine limitation I suppose, though it also does make logical sense (can't really unlearn the trick, can you?).

DreadKhan said:

Dualing out of Druid after getting Elemental Form sounds kinda viable, but sounds intriguing if you dual to Kensai!

Can't dual to a kit under default rules

moody_mage

If you triple class you will need to unlock the triple choice HLA's via BG2Tweaks

ZanathKariashi

1 or 2.....try 6+ at worst (F/C/M)....the T/M multi gets like 12 extra HLA, and a single/dual class mage actually loses like 4 HLA because they ran out of HLA to pick). (oddly the triple classes all get the worst HLA progression, even though you'd think that their lower levels would mean more classes leveling up for the same xp, but due to the way the xp progression is staggered, the 2 class multis hit the xp sweet spot while the triples don't make it, and the single/dual already passed it)