Unkitted Fighter Question + Return From Hiatus

Meanbunny

Hey guys, first of all before I get to my question, I just want to say I have returned after an unexpected hiatus this time last year due to issues I had to deal with in real life. I am just glad to be back to playing the games that I love again.

I don't know if many of the guys I remember still post here very much or not, but I will list a few of them to see if anyone knows. Blackraven, CrevsDaak, Booinyoureyes, Meagloth, Calonord, Elrandir, Bengoshi among many others. I think I have seen one or two of them just browsing for the few minutes I have. Anyway, just wanted to say hi again and hope that everyone has been well over the past year and I am excited for the new BG expansion coming up.

Question:

I am starting an IWD:EE run and I am playing a Kensai for the fun of it for Charname, I will probably end up dual classing later on but that is not what I am asking about. I know that early on the Kensai will not be a sufficient tank, so I need to find a character who can do that job for me.

I know a Barbarian is probably an excellent joice for this job, but Fighters have always had a place in my heart as Fighter was my first class I ever played on the Infinity Engine. The issue I am having is that I have played with Berserkers plenty of times in the past and this time I wanted to be a little different. Not to mention Berserker single handedly made so many tough encounters easy mode when they would of been wipes otherwise. I just wanted to try something different this time.

Other than a Barbarian or Wizard Slayer for obvious item issues, is there anything inherently wrong with a Vanilla Fighter? I just need someone to soak up damage and keep my squishies from getting beat up and I think that a Vanilla Fighter would do that job just fine. I just want to make sure that I am not making a big mistake. I also considered a Fighter/Thief, but I know they can fall behind in HP early on, not to mention they are more concentrated on the damage side and not so much tanking.

TL;DR

So is there anything wrong with having a Vanilla Fighter as the main tank in my party? Let me know guys. Thanks and its good to be back on the BG forums again.

BillyYank

I'm not an expert since I've only been through IWD once, but I love my half-orc fighter as a tank. He can really soak up the pain. My dual wielding ranger deals more damage, but he's also a little squishier.

Nimran

All of those people still post here. For all I know, they never leave.

As for your question, it worked in vanilla IWD (there were no kits or barbarians in vanilla anyway), so it should certainly be viable to use a vanilla fighter as a tank in the EE.

semiticgoddess

An unkitted fighter in IWD is stupendous. IWD is very well-suited to normal fighters for several reasons.

First, because you start at low levels, missile weapons are very strong. An archer can make a significant dent in the enemy's HP before the enemy actually reaches you.

Second, grandmastery in IWD and IWD:EE is particularly strong, and an unkitted fighter is one of the few classes that can achieve it.

Third, because enemies in IWD come in big swarms, gameplay favors reliable and continuous damage output. Fighters don't run out of spells, so they're better equipped to take down the hordes of enemies that IWD likes to throw at you.

Fourth, because most enemies in IWD are melee grunts with few special powers, AC and HP are the single biggest determinants of your durability--not saves or immunities, as is the case in BG2. With a good suit of metal armor and a shield, a fighter is able to survive much longer in IWD than any other class. Halfling and gnomish fighters make particularly excellent tanks, as they can wear the Helm of the Trusted Defender and gain a monstrous +3 AC bonus.

An unkitted fighter in IWD is a strong damage dealer and a valuable tank at every stage of the game. There are few enemy casters to disable them and few enemy critters with the THAC0 to threaten them.

Meanbunny

Yay, I am glad to hear that the Fighter is not at plain as I thought it would be!

@Nimran I am also excited to hear that you you still see that group of people post here. I see you have a high post count yourself, so I hope to get to know you as well this time around.

Thanks for the input guys.

Skatan

@semiticgod pretty much sums it up, but I can be stressed some more that the versatility of being able to switch between ranged and melee (yes, yes there are ofc returning axes etc) as a vanilla fighter which a zerkar cannot will make the first parts of the game very easy. If you plan on going with a small party, having at least one with longbow speciality will be good since you get a sure drop not far into the game which is +1 APR. Your fighter can use that if noone else will (and a zerker cannot). There's also loads of good xbows, so there's always a good ranged option even if someone else need the bow.

A fighter is always good, no matter the kit or race.