Starting as a thief/bard/druid sure is a lot easier
RedWizard
Member Posts: 242
Considering the starting level of the npcs you meet are tied to your own level rather than xp, a fast leveling class like the above ensures you will get them with a LOT more xp, especially multiclass npcs.
It's not hard at all to start BG2 at 11 with one of the classes above right out of Irenicus' dungeon provided you imported from BG1, as opposed to the usual 9 or so you'll be with most other classes.
The starting xp boost is massive for certain npcs with slow leveling classes or multiclassed, which is a tremendous boon in a party of 6 with split xp. This means faster access to HLAs, spells, etc and is really noticeable.
Some examples of meeting beginner npcs at level 9 or 11(slow leveling classes like paladins/rangers or some multis have it even worse since they might be 8 still)
Viconia at 9 or 11: 225000 or 675000 xp, +450000 starting xp.
Dorn or Valygar at 9 or 11: 300000 or 900000 xp, +600000 starting xp
Aerie at 8/9 or 10/11: 200000/200000 or 600000/600000, +800000 starting xp
Also it does seem the level or your other characters in party is also tied to it, so it might be wise to ditch them first before recruiting the npcs you want.
It's not hard at all to start BG2 at 11 with one of the classes above right out of Irenicus' dungeon provided you imported from BG1, as opposed to the usual 9 or so you'll be with most other classes.
The starting xp boost is massive for certain npcs with slow leveling classes or multiclassed, which is a tremendous boon in a party of 6 with split xp. This means faster access to HLAs, spells, etc and is really noticeable.
Some examples of meeting beginner npcs at level 9 or 11(slow leveling classes like paladins/rangers or some multis have it even worse since they might be 8 still)
Viconia at 9 or 11: 225000 or 675000 xp, +450000 starting xp.
Dorn or Valygar at 9 or 11: 300000 or 900000 xp, +600000 starting xp
Aerie at 8/9 or 10/11: 200000/200000 or 600000/600000, +800000 starting xp
Also it does seem the level or your other characters in party is also tied to it, so it might be wise to ditch them first before recruiting the npcs you want.
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Comments
A suggestion a could give you is to solo (or duo with Imoen) BG1 until you you've gotten close to 20.000 or 40.000 XP , which should be fast . Then you'll be able to recruit all npc's at maximum level (which is handy for spellcasters such as Edwin and Dynaheir).
And I'm a big fan of rogues, so I'm always glad that during a playthrough with a character who's not a rogue, I have a chance to distribute NPCs' proficiencies as I wish.
This.
There are certain NPCs where its a definite gimp to get them at their higher levels... the most obvious being Mazzy... having a pure fighter compelled to use short swords for melee is fairly debilitating.
Personally, I prefer to be able to tailor my NPCs development according to the needs of my party, including weapon proficiencies, thief skills, and even spells in the case of Baeloth.
The only exceptions I can think of are Haer'Dalis (who gets specialisation in long swords at higher level - which you can't give him yourself outside of editing), and Cernd, who receives more HP than he can receive through levelling him yourself.
@bengoshi - i hate that too, but it's just an inconvenience. 500k free xp trumps being able to assign a single pip to your liking.
Put me in the "It would be better to base it off of total XP" camp, though, which is what they did for the EE NPCs anyway. There's a huge difference in the 2e rules set between a level 12 Thief and a level 12 Mage (which rather defeats the purpose of having levels, in my opinion, but that's neither here nor there).