Powerful multis or duals?
Just wondering which multi-classes or dual classes did you find powerful in IWD? Looking particularly for unusual ones like the good old Fighter 3 --> Cleric, etc
And if not, which were the single-classes that really impressed you instead?
Thanks!
And if not, which were the single-classes that really impressed you instead?
Thanks!
1
Comments
(The latter is written for Baldur's Gate in mind, but mostly applies to IWD:EE too.)
As for the single classes, a Totemic Druid is very powerful, thanks to his shapeshipting forms and the fact his 10-level spirit animals are immune to normal weapons.
A Blackguard is also very powerful, as his poison coupled with fighter's APR and THAC0 literally kills everything.
An archer is powerful in IWDEE because nearly everything will fall against his missile THAC0.
A sorcerer in some kind breaks the game because with a sorcerer you can get an access to those spells you need and when you need them - without waiting for scrolls, and scrolls in IWDEE can be a problem. Also, a sorcerer can use spells from any school and thus it makes him stronger than specialist mages in IWDEE who get more opposed schools of magic than they do in BG.
If you have a melee-heavy party, then you should include a Skald to increase the melee output.
Can't recommend about dual-classes as I'm not a fan of those.
Berserker 7 -> Cleric
Kensei 9 -> Mage
FMT
Ill/Cleric
Skald
Is about the best team that I've played for HoF level 1.
Dual classes of Fighter 3 (kit or not) into anything are always solid and very fast. You complete the dual while in the last crypt of Vale of Shadows and that eventually gives you access to grandmastery (even better in IWD, where you get a whole ADDITIONAL attack when you reach it), some more hitpoints and expanded weapon selection to work with.
In IWD, while playing non-HoF, I'm not a fan of late duals. Pretty much the latest I do is level 7 fighter, usually dual classing into Druid. That is to take advantage of the fast level progression of Druid in that level range. To give an example, to reach level 8 Druid, you need 60k experience. For a Mage that's 90k, and for a Cleric - 110k. You complete that dual at the beginning of Severed Hand, which still gives you plenty of time to enjoy the "finished" character. Just have to remember that in order to dual class into Druid you need BOTH 17 wisdom AND 17 charisma. That coupled with the fact you probably also want some good strenght, dexterity and constitution means that you have to pull off a rather monsterous stat roll (and forget about the 9 int needed to use scrolls/wands).
I pretty much only do level 9 duals in case of Kensai -> Druid, to take advantage of that +1 thac0 and damage Kensai bonus at level 9 and Druid level 10 is still the fastest to dual class into (125k compared to 160k for Thief, 250k for Mage, 450k for Cleric).
Fighter duals into Druid are fun because in IWD Druids have a much better spell selection (especially levels 1-3, which in BG are horrible), Ironskins work like Stoneskin (cast time 1) meaning you can easily reapply that in combat and shapeshifting into weak/low level forms still heals you. Therefore you get a fun, effective and self-sufficient character to play with.
As for multi classes - anything with Thief is pretty good as it gives you access to thieving skills without any downtime and still upgrades your Thief in combat (either by being better at fighting or by having spells). Although it has to be said that early duals into Thief (like Fighter 3 -> Thief) also work, because you're going to be in Thief levels just before traps start (in Vale of Shadows tombs/crypts).
As for single classes, from the ones not mentioned already:
Undead Hunter - IWD is the perfect environment for this kit. LOTS of undead to make use of that +3 thac0 and damage bonus, and immunity to hold is extremely useful, as Hold Person is one of the main go-to spells of enemy clerics.
Dwarven Defender - IWD is a great game for the DD to shine in, as most encounters revolve around lots of enemies dealing physical damage which is just the type of situation he excells at.
Bard (no kit) - while the powerful song of the Skald is unquestionably effective, the plain ol' Bard in IWD is still pretty cool. You have a few songs to choose from, for different situations, though it has to be said that when you reach the last one at level 11 (War Chant of Sith), you're going to use that 99% of the time, cause it makes you pretty much invincible.
I have to say I was pretty underwhelmed with the Blackguard. Compared to BG (where the class is great), you lose more and gain less. You lose some minor stuff that Paladins get in IWD and the stuff you get is just not as useful in IWD. Immunity to level drain is useless and fear effects (to which the Blackguard is also immune) are way less prevalent compared to things like Hold. There's so many enemies immune to your poison and Absorb Health that, a lot of the times, the class felt to me like a crippled Fighter. Aura of Despair also didn't impress me much, usually worked on a few out of the ~20 enemies surrounding my party. It just seemed like, in most cases, throwing a Prayer/Recitation was a much better idea (to debuff a lot of enemies).