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Outside my comfort zone playthrough

So, I maybe looking to do another play through of the BG series, but the only way I can possible survive this is if I can do none comfort play through. Meaning I need some tips and ideas on team choices and a class to play.

Charname; ultimately all I ever play is DD and Wild mage, since I'm strongly magic bias. So logic would state I should be melee/physical focused. I originally was looking at cleric, but they fall too close to arcane caster in play; so right now I'm leaning towards either paladin or blackguard.

I also am looking at thief and assassin, but for the love of nocturnal, I can never seem to get hide in shadows to work or to even stay concealed, even when I separate away from my party in the long run.

I'm also on the boat about druid, I kind of want to run around as a freaking werewolf, but unfortunately people don't attack me on sight like I wish the would.

I'm still avoiding multi/duel classing, pure class 4 lyfe.

Npc I'm trying to avoid.
Jaheira
Viconia
Neera
Minsc
Dorn
Aerie
Dynahier
Imeon (maybe not, I can't just rid myself of little sis.)
Khalid

These are usually my most used npc.

Comments

  • semiticgoddesssemiticgoddess Member Posts: 14,903
    Stealth is fairly unreliable in BG1, unlike in BG2, where the thief levels are higher and there are more shadowy areas. Also, you automatically fail to hide in shadows if an enemy is nearby, unless you're a Shadowdancer or blind.

    If you almost never play anything besides Dragon Disciple or Wild Mage and want to get away from that, then I'd recommend an unkitted Paladin, Ranger, or Fighter. They're about as far as you can get from a mage, and they'll stay that way. If you don't have much experience playing fighters, the higher versatility of the unkitted classes would probably be more interesting.

    You might also consider changing up your weapon use and spell patterns. Changing broad trends in tactics can actually be a much bigger change of pace than a change in class or party makeup.
  • DragonKingDragonKing Member Posts: 1,979
    @semiticgod
    Thanks for the reply, the thing with hide in shadows is that it seems like my on party pulls me out of it. I've done it in rooms by myself, let the character walk out of the room, onto the room where everyone else was (no one facing the door) and I fail it.even when I succeed, it fails 2 seconds later.

    I wasn't looking at fighter/barbarian because just purely melee bores me.berserker may work since berserker mode is even MORE of a gamble than wild surge to me. I was looking at ranger also mostly to be a Archer, If I wanted to go that route that is.

    I really don't know how much more I can change up my spell patterns. I've played through the game many ways as a mage.

    Pure nuke invoker
    Literally tried a pure summoner
    A red fire dragon ( throne of bhaal was a itch)
    Master of illusiion
    Pure cc/disabled not a single damage spell, not even chromatic orb or magic missile.
  • PK2748PK2748 Member Posts: 381
    No mage run!
  • semiticgoddesssemiticgoddess Member Posts: 14,903
    I hate to disappoint you, DragonKing, but berserker rage doesn't actually make you lose control of the berserker. It gives them immunities--so many that it's actually one of the safest character builds around. It's not like Minsc's.
  • DragonKingDragonKing Member Posts: 1,979
    @semiticgod
    Wait...wait...wait... Only Minsc will randomly attack things when berserking? T...than why even call it a berserker?

    @PK2748
    Somethings just should never be said >.>

    Wouldn't a no mage run only work in bg,1 anyways
  • PK2748PK2748 Member Posts: 381
    It's my plan to at least try, but it depends upon these new characters for SOD and who gets ported to BG2. A few more useful non-mage companions would make it feel more viable.
  • abacusabacus Member Posts: 1,307
    I'm similar to you... Too used to blasting away armies with a bombardment of Skull Traps, Wiltings and waves of summons.

    My new self-gimp is to forbid spell duplication and limit resting.

    Basically, any particular Mage/Cleric can only have one casting of any particular spell at any time... Combined with a realistic approach to resting (once per day with additional rests only after *major* battles), this forces me into using new combinations of spells/abilities... rather than just falling back on the same tried-and-tested formulae.
  • JuliusBorisovJuliusBorisov Member, Administrator, Moderator, Developer Posts: 22,758
    @DragonKing If you really want to get out of your comfort zone that includes wizards, take a look on @Blackraven 's https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/43964/a-wizard-slayers-odyssey#latest .The whole concept of wizard-hunting is exactly opposite to your usual habit of using mages.

    Also, a thief is much more than a pure hiding in shadows. Take a Bounty Hunter, for example. Use traps to the max. For good ideas about thieves, check https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/43573/best-race-for-bounty-hunter-elf-or-halfling.

    Both those threads are very inspiring in the sense that when I'm reading posts there I'm beginning to want to create my own thief or wizard slayer and make a new run.
  • TuthTuth Member Posts: 233
    Playing outside your comfort zone is very eye-opening, I highly recommend doing so. Before I did that I never played as a spellcaster (apart from cleric) and my party composition was too similar in each run. One day I decided to turn everything on its head - random all the way!

    Since then I discovered that: defensive/utility mages are fun (I rolled an elven non-specialist mage and rolled his first 2 spells: shield and colour spray), bards are playable, as are all the available party members including those that are in Baldur's Gate city, you can go without a thief until chapter 5 and going to each areas in different order changes the game immensely. There are so many possibilities that the game won't ever become boring.
  • DragonKingDragonKing Member Posts: 1,979
    edited October 2015
    @bengoshi
    BH never really interested me as much is assassin or pure thief really. I mean shoot, when. I made a theif I spent more time trying to rob people blind, and was wishing it was a little bit more like TES, where I would just still stuff for the sake of stealing.

    Rping a kleptomaniac is fun.
  • semiticgoddesssemiticgoddess Member Posts: 14,903
    @abacus: I tried that a while ago--using a party with only one spellcaster, a Cleric/Mage, and forbidding her from memorizing more than one copy of the same spell besides Identify--and it was probably the best long-term decision I ever made in this game besides installing SCS. That was when I started to see the value in all of the spells I had been neglecting for so long.
  • GrumGrum Member, Mobile Tester Posts: 2,100
    Try an inquisitor. No spells and anti magic abilities. It's as far from a sorceror as you can get.
  • DragonKingDragonKing Member Posts: 1,979
    Hmm, witch hunter, maybe. Witch hunter Robin does have a nice ring to it
  • BillyYankBillyYank Member Posts: 2,768

    Hmm, witch hunter, maybe. Witch hunter Robin does have a nice ring to it

    image
  • Abi_DalzimAbi_Dalzim Member Posts: 1,428
    Having just started a Stalker run through the first game, I'd have to put in a good word for that one, too. I've gotten surprisingly good mileage out of Charm Animal to recruit some high-quality meatshields, and backstab is always welcome.
  • DragonspearDragonspear Member Posts: 1,838
    Imo, wizard slayer or fighter/thief. Then you really won't get any magic spells. You'll need your wits :)
  • DragonKingDragonKing Member Posts: 1,979
    I just realized that I've never solo'd the game...
  • GemHoundGemHound Member Posts: 801
    edited October 2015
    I did 3 times, its easiest I think with having a character that can detect traps or soak the damage from them.
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