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Fighter->Thief or Thief->Fighter?

MachiavelloMachiavello Member Posts: 10
in General Discussion (Spoiler Warning!)
Hello guys!

I was thinking of making a thief dualing to fighter at 13, for max backstab, and dual wielding fighter capabilities. But on every strategy guide I've read, they advice fighter dualing to thief. So, at high level, BUT not counting high level abilities, what would be the advantage of one over the other? THAC0, hit points and such? Also, they speak of kensai/mage. Can kits dual? I thought only vanilla classes could dual. If I just want to backstab anything backstabbable, should I chose an assasin? At what level do they get the x7 multiplier?

Comments

  • deltagodeltago Member Posts: 7,811
    Kits are dualable into basic classes, however you can't dual into a kit.

    So you can be an assassin/fighter or a Berserker/thief but can't be an assassin/berserker.

    With that, if there is a kit that you like, that is what you should start off with and then dual into the basic class.
  • semiticgoddesssemiticgoddess Member Posts: 14,903
    Usually Fighters dual-classed to thieves are more conventionally powerful. The reason is that you only need a few fighter levels to melee well, and thief HLAs are generally stronger than fighter HLAs. A Thief->Fighter is mostly just a fighter with some thieving abilities, and it will stay that way for pretty much the entire game. A Fighter->Thief, however, will be using Carsomyr, Spike Traps, and Time Stop scrolls in ToB.
  • Roller12Roller12 Member Posts: 437
    Both cap at lvl13 (x5 backstab / more attacks) but first class as a fighter gets more health and second class as a thief takes faster to regain control due to quicker levelling.
  • YannirYannir Member Posts: 595
    Thief -> Fighter only really makes sense if you start out with a thief kit. Shadowdancer -> Fighter and Assassin -> Fighter are extremely potent and fun combinations. I've especially enjoyed playing the SD->F. Just put all your points into stealth and leave the other skills for somebody else. Then you just vanish any time you feel like it, and maybe backstab or just pull back. In any case with a T->F, you are likely to lose traps since the basic ones aren't as good as to sacrifice your other thieving skills.
  • AHFAHF Member Posts: 1,376
    Bear in mind that if you go Kensai -> Thief you will get the use any item ability which will allow you to use armor while still getting the Kensai bonuses (including the AC bonus).

    Personally, I like the multiclass F/T since it is powerful, versatile and has no downtime during the build.
  • MachiavelloMachiavello Member Posts: 10
    OK thanx everyone! Seems I have to restart my game... again.
  • SionIVSionIV Member Posts: 2,689
    Machiavello said:

    OK thanx everyone! Seems I have to restart my game... again.

    This will happen a lot in Baldur's Gate :wink:
  • SuiboonSuiboon Member Posts: 86
    If we go by what's the best by the end of the game, fighter kit dualed into thief would take the cake in terms of power. If we go by relatively powerful and enjoyable, I'd say fighter/thief multi of any race would be the best option. And I'd take a dwarf for the shorty saves and awesome constitution.
  • AHFAHF Member Posts: 1,376
    Suiboon said:

    If we go by what's the best by the end of the game, fighter kit dualed into thief would take the cake in terms of power. If we go by relatively powerful and enjoyable, I'd say fighter/thief multi of any race would be the best option. And I'd take a dwarf for the shorty saves and awesome constitution.

    What does the fighter dualed to thief (FdT) do that the multi F/T can't?

    We know the warrior HLA are things the FdT can't do. Is the idea that the extra hit points make the difference?
  • SuiboonSuiboon Member Posts: 86
    edited August 2015
    Eh, in the hypothetical situation that you'd go through with that, and dual at the very LAST POSSIBLE MOMENT, you would end up with a ton of hit points more than the multi, plus a legal kit (as opposed to shadowkeepering a kit in for a multiclass).

    So for example, let's say Kensai dualed at level 25, at 4.25 m XP -> thief lvl 26 at 3.52 m XP would be theoretically stronger than a F/T multiclass. Since you'd get use any item as a thief that would nullify the downsides of a kensai. I suppose you could do something like a Shadowdancer dualed into a fighter as well but in the end that wouldn't be as strong.

    Again, if you're not soloing doing something like that would be insane. Sane people usually dual Kensai to thief at levels 7, 9 or at latest 13.

    And you'd miss out on the shorty saves and extra constitution of a dwarf, so not that big of a deal, but theoretically still better. Hence why I recommend the multiclassing option if you want to got F/T.
  • semiticgoddesssemiticgoddess Member Posts: 14,903
    Even a high-level dual-class Kensai-Thief doesn't quite match up to the multiclass, I don't think. HLAs favor the multiclass.

    Kensai(25)->Thief(26): 6 fighter HLAs and 3 thief HLAs.

    Kensai(9)->Thief: 15 thief HLAs.

    Fighter/Thief: 28 fighter or thief HLAs.

    Dual-classes might be more practical for druids, mages, and to a lesser extent clerics, but fighter and thief power increases are linear.
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