Setting up a solo FMT

Klorox

Which option is better for a trilogy solo run?

Going with two handed weapons (staff and xbow in BGI, UAI w/ Carsomyr in BGII) or dual wielding (flail of ages/belm or Crom Faeyr are great combos)?

LMK what you think!

Jarrakul

I'd probably say dual-wield, since you'll want to maximize your damage output, but staves are great for backstabbing in the late-game, and FMTs tend to do a lot of that. Of course, you could always do both, and switch depending on if you're backstabbing or just straight-up fighting. As a solo character, you could get plenty of pips to do everything (2 in scimitar, 2 in some other one-handed weapon, 2 in staff, 2 in two weapon style, 1 in two handed style, 2 in longbow/crossbow, that's 11 points in total or 21st level in fighter, which I think you'll hit sometime in the middle of BG2).

If you do choose to do both setups, I'd say start with scimitar and longbow/crossbow in BG1, and then transition into staves and dual wielding as the game goes on.

Lord_Tansheron

As a FMT you can pick up a whole bunch of weapons.

If you can get around the Haste-penalty, FoA + Belm/Kundane/SNT is a ridiculously powerful combo. If not, you can go for Club of Detonation+5 in the mainhand and stack fire resistance, or go for Crom Faeyr.

You can switch in other weapons as needed. Celestial Fury for stuns, Carsomyr for dispels, Staff of the Magi for invisibility. World's your oyster, thanks to UAI.

Klorox

I thought a FMT had 10 proficiencies to play with by the end. My bad if I'm wrong.

Jarrakul

Oh, hm. That's true if you're not playing with the experience cap removed. My bad. In that case, I'd probably drop down to one pip in your ranged weapon. You'll mostly just use ranged attacks for kiting anyway, and you should be able to manage that with only one pip.

FinneousPJ

You want pips for your main damage dealers, not fringe weapons or off hands. Keeping this in mind, it shouldn't be too hard to allocate 10 pips. For me,

** Hammer
** Flail

rest is open for preference.

Lord_Tansheron

You actually don't NEED a whole lot of different weapons. FMT is so powerful, you can steamroll most of the game with ease without ever switching weapons.

That being said, if you want to maximize effectiveness, then you can consider what you have access to at what point in the game.

Before Underdark: FoA+3, Carsomyr+5, Celestial Fury+3, Daystar
After Underdark: Crom Faeyr
WK: Foebane+3, Angurvadal+4, Purifier+4

Those are the most important weapons (hope I'm not forgetting any).

Flail is a very good choice, both because FoA+3 is available extremely early and because it is a truly amazing weapon even at +3.

Crom Faeyr is the next obvious choice. 25 STR is ridiculously powerful, and the damage of the hammer itself is actually quite high.

I therefore echo @FinneousPJ in his opinion and would go for ** Hammer ** Flail ** Two-Weapon Fighting to start with.

As for the rest of the points, I'd probably fill those with pips in utility weapons that actually need to hit, namely the anti-undead ones (Azuredge or Mace of Disruption). Katana for Celestial Fury is another option, if you want to stunlock certain enemies (works very well vs. Chromatic Demon, for example). Or you could go for a backstab weapon, eventually maybe even Staff of the Ram+6 for maximum value (if BS is your thing).

Most of the other utility weapons can be equipped briefly if and when they are needed, without worrying much about proficiency points.

Offhand is obviously a +APR weapon, ideally SNT once you can use it. Don't be afraid to use shields every now and then (and not just the Shield of the Dairy Farmer), especially early game. Can be quite useful.

Klorox

Interesting. I thought offhand would be better going to Crom Faeyr rather than Belm > SNT.

What's the shield of the dairy farmer? LOL

Pantalion

Klorox said:

Interesting. I thought offhand would be better going to Crom Faeyr rather than Belm > SNT.

What's the shield of the dairy farmer? LOL

I'm betting Shield of Reflection, which confers absolute missile immunity for about 5k GP.

FinneousPJ

Lord_Tansheron said:

As for the rest of the points, I'd probably fill those with pips in utility weapons that actually need to hit, namely the anti-undead ones (Azuredge or Mace of Disruption). Katana for Celestial Fury is another option, if you want to stunlock certain enemies (works very well vs. Chromatic Demon, for example). Or you could go for a backstab weapon, eventually maybe even Staff of the Ram+6 for maximum value (if BS is your thing).

This is good insight. In summary:
Pick your one or two main damage dealers
Pick your secondary weapons for which APR or THAC0 is relevant
Do not worry about fringe weapons or off hands
Assign pips

Klorox

I gotta say, I'm kind of surprised there's no love for the Staff of the Ram/Carsomyr build.

Thanks guys!

Lord_Tansheron

Klorox said:

Interesting. I thought offhand would be better going to Crom Faeyr rather than Belm > SNT.

Crom + APR is better. A lot better. The only time you should consider using Crom in the offhand is when you can't pair it with an APR for whatever reason.

Klorox said:

What's the shield of the dairy farmer? LOL

Also known as the Brie Buckler, Gouda Guard, or Parmesan Pavise. Pedestrians call it "Shield of Balduran".

Jarrakul

Beholders fight like cows anyway.

Klorox

Huh, that's funny. I don't think I ever used Crom Faeyr as my main weapon.

I always thought the Flail of Ages was the best one handed weapon in the game.

abacus

If you're playing an elf, remember that you basically get long swords, short swords and bows more or less for free...

You have fighter levels, so you only lose 2 THAC0 for non-proficiency, and being an Elf offsets that by 1 for these weapons.

-1 THAC0 is pretty easy to work around with buffs and equipment.

Klorox

BTW, I'm such a poor player sometimes.

I can hardly remember how to deal with beholders without that shield.

Gotural

Don't forget to backstab, it will deal more damage than non-backstabbing setups by a large margin.
As a solo character, you should already have a very high natural Strength:
18+ at the start of BG1
19 at the end of BG1
23 at the end of BG2 if you take the evil path
Plus the DUHM Bhaalspawn power that you will have for a good portion of the game (even longer with some mods if you get them back in ToB)

Therefore I would not pick Hammers, plus there is only one great hammer for a F/M/T which is Crom Faeyr and you get it pretty late.

If you need a solid blunt weapon I would recommend to go for Flails only for the obvious FoA that you get right from the start.

Scimitars are going to be your best bet for BG1 with Drizzt's Scimitars and in BG2 with SNT and the very early Usuno's Blade+4. Later on you will be able to use Spectral Brand +4/+5 which is invaluable for a F/M/T thanks to the permanent Level Drain immunity and cold damage on every hit to interrupt spell casters if needed.

Use a shield if needed, contrary to the popular belief they aren't bad and they get better the later you are in the game.

Klorox

For some reason, I thought dual wielding characters lost something when compared to two handed weapon wielders when GWW comes along.

Am I wrong?

Lord_Tansheron

Klorox said:

Huh, that's funny. I don't think I ever used Crom Faeyr as my main weapon.

I always thought the Flail of Ages was the best one handed weapon in the game.

The problem with FoA+5 is that it makes you immune to (Improved) Haste. There are ways around it. You can mod it, or you can haste yourself while FoA is not equipped, THEN equip it. That should preserve your APR bonus from IH. For most setups, especially solo, this will be better than Crom Faeyr.

If however you consider FoA+5 to work as intended by disallowing haste effects, then Crom Faeyr is your next best choice. Note that which is better can change with various factors, so math it out for your specific case if you want to be super sure.

Klorox said:

For some reason, I thought dual wielding characters lost something when compared to two handed weapon wielders when GWW comes along.

Am I wrong?

You are partly correct. In the case of GWW, since it sets your attacks to 10 you will want to only be using ONE weapon while it is in effect: whichever weapon as the highest damage per hit. Offhands are largely useless during GWW and tend to waste damage.

However, outside of GWW you can also reach 10 APR. You do this by reaching 5 base APR (the maximum) through dual-wielding a +APR weapon in the offhand as a lvl 7+ fighter with GM, then using Improved Haste to double your APR to 10 (8 main hand + 2 offhand). This has the advantage of lasting a lot longer than GWW, and you can combine it with other HLAs like Critical Strike for even more damage. However, its slightly less damage than GWW is over its duration, and it can also be dispelled by enemies.

It's entirely feasible to still pick GWW and use it in spots where you need great burst. You can definitely do something like use a big 2h (Carsomyr+6, Staff of the Ram+6) while you GWW, which will result in huge hits. Then when it ends, you can switch back to dual-wield with Improved Haste.

luskan

I agree with @Gotural, you don't need Warhammer until your level 9 and 12 picks if you're going for Crom.

My recent F/M/T was already level 9 fighter just a few quests into Chapter 2, and the best Warhammer I had at that point was the one you get at De'arnise Keep while putting the FoA together. Having only one pip in Flails meant I was 1/2 a APR slower until a very long wait for level 12.

As for your backstabbing weapon I went with Long Swords to start, although Scimitars are also a great choice. It all depends on what you prefer in your main hand. My favourite is The Burning Earth, which comes with you from BG1 (although if you bring Varscona instead you can get the Burning Earth in the same quest area as Belm).

When version 2.0 comes out, you'll be able to automatically switch from a bow to sword & shield or two weapon fighting without the hassle of going into the inventory screen and switching it manually. Grab the beta if you can.

Pteran

In the 15+ years I've been playing this game, I never once tried the triple multiclasses. Started up a solo FMT last night. This class is a beast!

After clearing the circus tent in the Promenade I bought myself a Staff +2. Did the Copper Coronet and subsequent Sewers/Slaver Compound. Even with SCS improvements I chewed through everything no problem. Now I've got myself the Staff of Rynn and I'm ready to enter the wider world

Klorox

I think this next run will be for staves/swords. Just the idea of a Carsomyr wielding FMT is awesome.

Klorox

Half elf FMT

In BGI, you'll primarily be cosplaying as Drizzt. He's got the best weapons and armor, and I really only cast invisibility and identify in BGI. You can do well with magic missile against Sarevok, if you so choose.

Level 1:
** scimitar
** two weapon fighting

Level 6:
** flail (I'd buy the +2 one sold in Sorcerous Sundries in case you meet something resistant to slashing)

Note: in BGI, you'd be better off getting *** in TWF, but this way is better in the long run.

Level 12:
** hammer

Level 15:
*** two weapon fighting

Level 18:
* bastard sword

Your primary weapons will be the Flail of Ages and Crom Faeyr. Your best off-hand weapons are Belm (early game), Scarlet Ninja-to, and the Purifier.

------
How's that look? I'm thinking I might be better off taking one away from two weapon fighting and getting ** in bastard sword.

Arunsun

Klorox said:

Interesting. I thought offhand would be better going to Crom Faeyr rather than Belm > SNT.

What's the shield of the dairy farmer? LOL

Actually, and I don't mean it as an offense, but quite a big part of the forum mistake CF for an offhand weapon, but really it's godlike as a mainhand one and will end up providing, along with Belm/SNT, the best possible damage output on a character that cannot reach 25 STR another way.
Crom Faeyr is 13 damage per hit on average in itself, but compared to 22 STR with another weapon, it actually is 17 damage per hit on average which is unmatched by any other weapon in the game, except FoA+5 which has that nasty Free Action that prevents haste, and Black blade of disaster.

Jaheiras_Witness

Why would you be a half-elf rather than (full) elf? The latter is superior in nearly every way imaginable.

Klorox

Jaheiras_Witness said:

Why would you be a half-elf rather than (full) elf? The latter is superior in nearly every way imaginable.

For the extra 9 hit points, the ability to regenerate in BGI (with a buckler - great for moving between areas even if you dual wield most of the time), and the fact there's almost zero difference between an 18, 19, and 20 DEX except for a minor bump in thief skills (and missile weapons, but he doesn't use them).

Since I don't plan on using long or short swords or bows, and charms really aren't all that common, I'm wondering what makes an elf superior to a half elf.

Klorox

Arunsun said:

Klorox said:

Interesting. I thought offhand would be better going to Crom Faeyr rather than Belm > SNT.

What's the shield of the dairy farmer? LOL

Actually, and I don't mean it as an offense, but quite a big part of the forum mistake CF for an offhand weapon, but really it's godlike as a mainhand one and will end up providing, along with Belm/SNT, the best possible damage output on a character that cannot reach 25 STR another way.
Crom Faeyr is 13 damage per hit on average in itself, but compared to 22 STR with another weapon, it actually is 17 damage per hit on average which is unmatched by any other weapon in the game, except FoA+5 which has that nasty Free Action that prevents haste, and Black blade of disaster.

I'm beginning to learn the awesomeness of Crom Faeyr. I can't wait to use it with this character.

luskan

@Klorox If you're going to put the third pip in two weapon fighting, do it at level 3. You only need it for BG1, and it lets you use fun off-hand weapons like the Dagger of Venom or the Stupefier (which is getting nerfed in version 2.0).

Jaheiras_Witness

Klorox said:

Jaheiras_Witness said:

Why would you be a half-elf rather than (full) elf? The latter is superior in nearly every way imaginable.

For the extra 9 hit points, the ability to regenerate in BGI (with a buckler - great for moving between areas even if you dual wield most of the time), and the fact there's almost zero difference between an 18, 19, and 20 DEX except for a minor bump in thief skills (and missile weapons, but he doesn't use them).

Since I don't plan on using long or short swords or bows, and charms really aren't all that common, I'm wondering what makes an elf superior to a half elf.

Charms are not common? Really?! Charm is one of the most common effects you face, from BG1 (Sirenes, mages, etc) all the way to ToB (many demons). As an elf with 90% resistance you can basically ignore those effects. A half-elf with 30% cannot. You also have resistance to sleep - not just the spell but also the effect (e.g. dragon wing buffet).

From a trilogy perspective, the stat changes make little difference. It's not just about DEX 18, 19 or 20, you can also get to 21 in Watcher's Keep as an elf (+1 AC). Similarly an elf can still get to CON 19 in Watcher's Keep and recover those HP (the half-elf getting to 20 at that point is worthless - you will have regeneration items that far outstrip natural regen). Not that a FMT should be relying on HPs in any case.

Add in the free bonuses to skill with swords and bows and the half elf has nothing over an elf.

Gotural

I still prefer the Half-Elf for the extra HP, especially in BG1 and when playing No-Reload.

Klorox

I kind of agree with both of you.

The extra HP of the half elf is awesome because of the regeneration, and it's hard to rely on even 90% resistance of the elf, if failing that save means game over in a no reload.

But 90% resistance *is* pretty sweet. I never realized it applied to all charm effects. For some reason, I thought it was just resistance to the level 1 spell.