My problem with blackguards is that they are...too good.
+ Immune to level drain (huge bonus in BG2) + Immune to fear (huge bonus in BG1) + Absorb Health (hands down better than lay on hands. LoH is 2HP per level as a heal...Absorb Health does the heal and damages an enemy. Our of combat healing is easy enough as it is. AH disrupts enemy spells, can do a good chunk of damage, and heals you) + Poison Weapon (kills anything in the game reliably. From stacking it to kill dragons, to AoE it to kill mobs, to just downright murdering mages of any kind, this is a truly powerful ability) + Aura of Despair (It's a negative skald song. And we all know how powerful the skald song is!) + Lower Stats needed (you don't need to spend an eternity rolling to get a 93-95 to max out your physical stats. Blackguards can dump Cha and Wis unlike a paladin so you have an easier time making a powerful character)
- Lose Detect Evil (which doesn't do anything and is a lvl 1 spell anyways) - Lose Protection From Evil (a lvl 1 spell that many characters, including them, can just cast) - Lose Lay on Hands (get the better Absorb Health) - Must be evil (ok, to me that is a downside but it does nothing for effectiveness)
To me, blackguards just cherry pick the best parts of the different paladin kits, give up superfluous abilities and get a number of truly powerful abilities to replace them with. And that is why they aren't my favorite kit. It feels like they just have too much going for them, especially compared to the other paladin kits.
My problem with blackguards is that they are...too good.
Can't the same be said about Cavalier? It's paladin + immunities, resistances, an extra free spell and a situational but good combat bonus. In exchange... you lose ranged weapons? Does anyone even use ranged weapons on paladins?
No Carsomyr is a massive, massive drawback. Ir'revrykal is a piece of garbage compared to it, lower damage, can't be upgraded, immunity to charm instead of magic resistance, only 50% to dispel, also less convenient since you have to go through Watcher's Keep to get it. If there's any reason to play a paladin instead of a blackguard, this is it.
@Grum Yeah, Blackguards are pretty OP, but I kind of like being OP when I am playing an evil run. Smash! Poison! Kill! Take everybody's stuff! Cause I'm evil and challenge is for suckahs!
No Carsomyr is a massive, massive drawback. Ir'revrykal is a piece of garbage compared to it, lower damage, can't be upgraded, immunity to charm instead of magic resistance, only 50% to dispel, also less convenient since you have to go through Watcher's Keep to get it. If there's any reason to play a paladin instead of a blackguard, this is it.
Eh...I'd say that you aren't getting the most out of Blackguards if you go two handed. They are all about stacking poison on tough foes. For that reason I argue that they are best off with Belm in the offhand and a weapon of choice in the main hand. I'd actually go longswords for them.
Blackrazor (+1 HP every 5 seconds, Immune to charm and fear, 15% chance to drain 4 levels from enemy and heal, haste, and raise strength of wielder), Belm (+1 APR), Poison and Debuffs.
I believe that the sword gives you +3 strength. Add in 19 base, 2 from Hell, 1 from Lum...is 22 strength base. The sword easily pushes you up to 25 strength, with the haste. You are then up to 4APR per round...4.5 with the gauntlets of specialization. Haste just makes that better.
Sure, Carsomyr gives plenty of magic protection and dispels magic on hit. But with Blackrazor you are hitting like a truck, draining levels, and applying poison really quickly.
You can eventually upgrade to the Answerer (target loses 15% magic resistance and 2 AC every hit). That, with poison and -4 AC/-4 THACO from your debuff will take down opponents quickly and open them up to Edwin's magic.
Dual wielding is the way to go with Blackguard. Two handed is the way you go with Paladin.
My problem with blackguards is that they are...too good.
Can't the same be said about Cavalier? It's paladin + immunities, resistances, an extra free spell and a situational but good combat bonus. In exchange... you lose ranged weapons? Does anyone even use ranged weapons on paladins?
... I love Cavalier ^^
That's what I've come to notice on my (now finished) playthrough of Baldur's Gate. All those immunities and the ability to practically at will remove fear from my allies? In exchange for not using a ranged weapon? What's not to love.
I'll definitely drag him through BG2EE, just to learn the story, but he feels too strong to be an enjoyable PC.
Dragon disciple i love sorcerers but i do have minor complaint with the kit though. i think they should have add more dragon breath uses on higher levels still a very fun kit this was a hard vote for me because i really like the dark moon monk blur mirror image and detect illusion are very usefull skills on a monk
I was torn between this and Blackguard. Went with this because I thought the Chill Touch, Detect Illusions, combined with the Monk's pre-existing Hide in Shadows and magic resistance made for an interesting alternate mage killer class.
The "fun" answer is that the wild mage was originally on the list, but something happened when they were casting "Create poll" and a pit fiend appeared and... Well, you know the rest.
Normally I'd say Blackguard or Dark Moon Monk if we're just going by mechanical power, but the Shaman is the most unique out of all the new classes/kits, which is why it gets my vote.
Comments
+ Immune to level drain (huge bonus in BG2)
+ Immune to fear (huge bonus in BG1)
+ Absorb Health (hands down better than lay on hands. LoH is 2HP per level as a heal...Absorb Health does the heal and damages an enemy. Our of combat healing is easy enough as it is. AH disrupts enemy spells, can do a good chunk of damage, and heals you)
+ Poison Weapon (kills anything in the game reliably. From stacking it to kill dragons, to AoE it to kill mobs, to just downright murdering mages of any kind, this is a truly powerful ability)
+ Aura of Despair (It's a negative skald song. And we all know how powerful the skald song is!)
+ Lower Stats needed (you don't need to spend an eternity rolling to get a 93-95 to max out your physical stats. Blackguards can dump Cha and Wis unlike a paladin so you have an easier time making a powerful character)
- Lose Detect Evil (which doesn't do anything and is a lvl 1 spell anyways)
- Lose Protection From Evil (a lvl 1 spell that many characters, including them, can just cast)
- Lose Lay on Hands (get the better Absorb Health)
- Must be evil (ok, to me that is a downside but it does nothing for effectiveness)
To me, blackguards just cherry pick the best parts of the different paladin kits, give up superfluous abilities and get a number of truly powerful abilities to replace them with. And that is why they aren't my favorite kit. It feels like they just have too much going for them, especially compared to the other paladin kits.
... I love Cavalier ^^
Smash!
Poison!
Kill!
Take everybody's stuff!
Cause I'm evil and challenge is for suckahs!
Blackrazor (+1 HP every 5 seconds, Immune to charm and fear, 15% chance to drain 4 levels from enemy and heal, haste, and raise strength of wielder), Belm (+1 APR), Poison and Debuffs.
I believe that the sword gives you +3 strength. Add in 19 base, 2 from Hell, 1 from Lum...is 22 strength base. The sword easily pushes you up to 25 strength, with the haste. You are then up to 4APR per round...4.5 with the gauntlets of specialization. Haste just makes that better.
Sure, Carsomyr gives plenty of magic protection and dispels magic on hit. But with Blackrazor you are hitting like a truck, draining levels, and applying poison really quickly.
You can eventually upgrade to the Answerer (target loses 15% magic resistance and 2 AC every hit). That, with poison and -4 AC/-4 THACO from your debuff will take down opponents quickly and open them up to Edwin's magic.
Dual wielding is the way to go with Blackguard. Two handed is the way you go with Paladin.
I'll definitely drag him through BG2EE, just to learn the story, but he feels too strong to be an enjoyable PC.
Nothing cooler than beating up all the things with your fists and frying the ones that survive.
...But why no wild mage?
Wild Mage was introduced with throne of bhaal. Not an original beamdog kit.