Fighter/Thief (Multiclass x Dual-Class)

Raduziel

I'm struggling to define what will be my next character: a Half-Orc Fighter/Thief (Assassin kit enforced with EEKeeper) or a Human Fighter/Thief (same thing about the kit).

Can you guys give a hand in this?

He'll use daggers, shortswords and shortbows.

In case of Dual-Class, what's is the optimal level to turn into Thief if we are talking about a BG-SoD-SoA-ToB run and I want to turn into Thief before facing Sarevok?

Thanks!

Pantalion

Keepered Multiclass Assassins don't suffer any penalties (25 skill points/level), get better strength, and get Fighter HLAs.

Keepered Fighter -> Assassins you need to choose between 7 and 13. 13 is obviously stronger, but takes far longer to reach, with level 14 being the theoretically optimal dual where you get the extra point of THAC0 for no lost thief levels, but yeah, Multiclass is where it's at for F/Ts.

Raduziel

I'm using EEKeeper to remove the cheesy skill points, so it's not an advantage towards the Multiclass.

In terms of Dual, I was thinking that level 9 would be the optimal level. You take all Fighter's Hit Dice (and CON HP bonus), 7 proficiency points and get the 3/2 Attack, but I don't know if it would allow me to be a competent Thief (i.e. solid in backstabbing and setting traps) in BGEE. I've removed the XP Cap, but I don't farm XP by sleeping in places (but I do turn every stone looking for enemies).

And can anyone explain to me if I can reach Grandmastery as a Thief having my Fighter's abilities recovered? Need to know if, using the Dual-Class, I'll focus in an specific weapon (dagger - serves both melee and ranged and uses the STR bonus to damage) or become an specialist in several (dagger, shortsword and shortbow) to enhance my skills in those as a Thief.

Daevelon

Raduziel said:

And can anyone explain to me if I can reach Grandmastery as a Thief having my Fighter's abilities recovered? Need to know if, using the Dual-Class, I'll focus in an specific weapon (dagger - serves both melee and ranged and uses the STR bonus to damage) or become an specialist in several (dagger, shortsword and shortbow) to enhance my skills in those as a Thief.

Yep, you can reach another Grandmastery after you will gain back your Fighter levels.

JuliusBorisov

Multiclass Fighter/Thieves are one of the best ever multiclass combination, because the synergy between two classes is excellent right from the first level till HLAs. Fighter's THAC0 that improves with levels make your thief actually hit things through the whole trilogy. You can swap armour before landing a backstab. And you don't need to wait for any period before gaining your class back. And your THAC0 won't stop improving.

thelovebat

Oops, voted without having read the whole opening post first. For the Assassin yeah a multiclass character would be much better to take advantage of the backstabbing multiplier they're good at. In the base game though you couldn't multiclass with a kit so that's why I voted for dual class on a whim, cus you can get 2 thieving skills you like up to a competent level that'll get you through the series then focus on your fighting skills after the class switch. A Swashbuckler dualed to Fighter would seem good though probably not as good as using EEKeeper to have a multiclass that was kitted (in which case, you could just be a Kensai/Mage that destroys everything). A plain Fighter/Thief though could still be really good anyway, Coran in BG1 is a really great NPC to have and does a variety of things well.

Eadwyn_G8keeper

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Eadwyn_G8keeper

Got to go with Multiclass because, with little drawback throughout BG1 you will get the powerful HLAs of both classes in the later game. This is particularly true if Grandmastery is enabled for appropriate Fighter levels ~which should not be considered OP at all - compared to what a Fighter/Mage can bring to the table.

Aerakar

Multi-class. It is a classic combo that is balanced, powerful, and useful all the way through the trilogy, even without keepering in Assassin instead of vanilla thief. You get to play both classes from day one until the end. And as was already noted, you get both HLA sets and can backstab reliably due to fighter THACO, instead of the crappy thief THACO.

Lateralus

If you want to be the most powerful (non-modded) murderer the realms have never seen coming: Kensai13/Thief^.

Base thac0=8. Weapon Mastery tops Specialization by +2, thac0=6. Kensai +4 to hit, thac0=2. Eventually UAI will enable gauntlet and weapon bonus and abilities on top of all that.

How much experience does it take to get to that 2 thac0? 13Kensai/14Thief takes 2,130,001xp. It would take a multi-class fighter/thief 5,500,001 to reach a 2 thaco0. So, it's better and faster. By the time you hit 5.5xp UAI will be available and you could further enhance your tahc0 with gauntlets. You do +7 more damage to every hit and can maximize every backstab attack with Kai. A non-modded assassin could do x7 damage but that is a random damage roll without the +9 damage per die (mastery+kensai).

Now if you simply want to enjoy the game without all this micro management, fighter/thief is far superior.

Corellia

I think multiclass is more fun and with assassin it should be a lot stronger.

Klorox

If you choose to dual class, and you want to dual before facing Sarevok, I think your best option is fighter level 7.