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What level do you dual class Imoen?

rodneyandsteptoerodneyandsteptoe Member Posts: 99
edited September 2012 in Archive (General Discussion)
Having completed BG twice without dual classing her, I would be interested to hear when others add the mage bit to her thieving skills (as in what level)?
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  • Awong124Awong124 Member Posts: 2,642
    edited September 2012
    Probably 4 or 5. Level 4 would give enough thieving points to at least max out or get close to maxing out one skill, and give you an additional proficiency point. Level 5 would give you an extra backstab multiplier if you're inclined to have Imoen backstab. Any higher level doesn't make a lot of sense in BG1. You could get to level 6 and still have enough to reach max level as a mage in BG1, but reaching level 6 as a thief doesn't really give any significant bonuses.

    Technically, you can reach a max of level 7 in thief and still be able to regain your thief abilities, but her mage won't be able to reach max level. And it would pretty much be at the end of the game before you regain her thief abilities, making her kind of useless for most of the game.

    Some incentives to reach as high a level as you can before dualing her would be getting the extra HP a thief provides, and getting as many thieving points as possible. Whether or not that's worth it for taking longer for her to actually have the abilities of both classes is up to you.
  • DJKajuruDJKajuru Member Posts: 3,300
    With a full party? Level 7th.

    With a small party - perhaps level 10.
  • ZwiebelchenZwiebelchen Member Posts: 86
    Level 5 is enough to maximize her lockpicking. In BG:EE, however, I will only take her to level 4, as thieves level faster than mages and its hard to reach level 6 as a mage without screwing over half the game due to a semi-useless character.
  • Awong124Awong124 Member Posts: 2,642
    edited September 2012
    DJKajuru said:

    With a small party - perhaps level 10.

    This made me lol a little bit. At level 10 as a thief, she wouldn't even be able to reach level 2 as a mage before hitting the XP cap. It could work if you remove the XP cap though.
  • sandmanCCLsandmanCCL Member Posts: 1,389
    Permidion_Stark said:

    I only ever dual-class Imoen so she is consistent with her character in BG2 so that is level 7 I think. However, by choice I would always keep her as a thief - she just doesn't seem the mage type to me.

    I believe Imoen and all the other NPCs were based off actual PnP characters of the developers, and the intent was she would be a mage.

    She actually never struck me as the thief type, personally. :)

    Anyway: Depends. Usually around level 5 if she's the only thief I am planning on using. If I go all the way to 7 before dropping it for mage, I have another dedicated mage in the party and someone else to pick up the slack for thief while she's regaining levels. That guy is usually Coran because I hit level 7 with Imoen just around Cloakwood every time.

  • Awong124Awong124 Member Posts: 2,642
    edited September 2012
    Yeah, I usually don't like to dual the NPCs. The only time I ever dual an NPC is Yoshimo to a fighter just before he betrays me.

    EDIT: Just remembered you can't dual Yoshimo to a mage.
    Post edited by Awong124 on
  • XavioriaXavioria Member Posts: 874
    Personally, AFTER removing the experience cap of course (and TotSC adds some experience) I Dual her at level 9, instead of level 7, which is Canon. I prefer level 9 because I want her to backstab (IMO that is what Mage/Theif is for) so I get it to that level so that she has x4 backstab, instead of x3. The extra theiving points, and hit points aren't bad either counting both those levels.
  • XavioriaXavioria Member Posts: 874
    Well BG1 lacks mage/theif's in question, whereas BG2 has them in abundance (and three IS an abundance). these types of casters are pretty decent, for me anyways, when using the invisibility spells correctly, you get to backstab all over the place.
  • mlnevesemlnevese Member, Moderator Posts: 10,214
    More than once...

    I also asked for game continuity from BG1 to BG2 so dead NPCs stay dead and those that had stats raised by books remain so as well.

    Just as BGT works btw...
  • PugPugPugPug Member Posts: 560
    Anduin said:

    Why level her to mage at all in BG1? She will be a thief mage whatever in BG2!

    Unless anyone can tell me this is sorted and she appears in her cage as you left her at the end of BG1 in the new BG2... Hmmm... Tell me someone has asked for this in features...

    Yes, I have asked for a persistent Imoen.

    http://forum.baldursgate.com/discussion/4690/persistent-imoen-from-bg1-into-bg2-start-of-bg2-spoiler
  • PugPugPugPug Member Posts: 560
    And as for when to dual her... whenever you get disarm traps and open locks both at 100.
  • kilroy_was_herekilroy_was_here Member Posts: 455
    For storyline reasons she has to be dualed at some point so she can be hit with the plot hammer and taken to Spellhold. Technically she only casts magic missile, so even a level 1 mage would work...
  • Awong124Awong124 Member Posts: 2,642
    Metal_Hurlant said:

    I always duel Imoen at level 6, because you can still get her to level 9 at the end of the game. A normal mage can only get to level 9. You can go level 7/8 Thief/Mage for more hit points, but you miss out on using the 5th level spells.

    basically:

    1. level 6/9 Thief/Mage (20,000 xp / 135,000 xp) is under the 161K cap and you get all your spells.
    2. level 7/8 Thief/Mage (40,000 xp / 90,000xp) is still under the 161K cap and you miss out on using the 5th level spell but have more hit points.

    Option 1 is better imo.

    Option 1 is optimal for BG1 end game, but level 6 doesn't provide any significant bonuses to justify the extra time required to regain the class abilities in my opinion.
  • CaptRoryCaptRory Member Posts: 1,660
    There are lots of thieves in BG. So for me it depends on how badly I need a mage. In my game where I'm playing a Paladin, I dualed her after she got her second level in thief. Her find traps is at 75, which is covering nicely while I level Coran up. And before I got Coran I used Safana and just threw her points into Open Lock, because Imoen got her thief skills back super fast to cover finding traps. Seventy-five is a solid score in Find Traps while leveling up a new thief and Imoen is a kickarse mage currently.
  • ShinShin Member Posts: 2,344
    Pretty much always level 7.
  • elminsterelminster Member, Developer Posts: 16,317
    In my current game as a druid I kept her as a thief. I already have 2 other mages (Dynaheir and Xan).

  • DragonspearDragonspear Member Posts: 1,838
    Even during the times I do run the Canon party (or at least Minsc/Dynahier) I dual Imoen at 7. Not only because its canon but it allows me to load up Dynaheir with magic to blast people into Oblivion while using Imoen for support and disabling magics.
  • Metal_HurlantMetal_Hurlant Member Posts: 324
    Awong124 said:


    Option 1 is optimal for BG1 end game, but level 6 doesn't provide any significant bonuses to justify the extra time required to regain the class abilities in my opinion.

    I don't know why you would dual Imoen less than level 6. It's a waste of xp to use the extra xp on her as a Mage when that extra xp doesn't mean anything. And getting to level 6 is only 20,000 xp. You can do that easily in a very short span of time.
  • ShinShin Member Posts: 2,344
    With the BG1 NPC Project it also makes a lot of sense to dual her, especially with Dynaheir in the party.
  • Awong124Awong124 Member Posts: 2,642
    Metal_Hurlant said:

    Awong124 said:


    Option 1 is optimal for BG1 end game, but level 6 doesn't provide any significant bonuses to justify the extra time required to regain the class abilities in my opinion.

    I don't know why you would dual Imoen less than level 6. It's a waste of xp to use the extra xp on her as a Mage when that extra xp doesn't mean anything. And getting to level 6 is only 20,000 xp. You can do that easily in a very short span of time.
    You're forgetting that getting from level 6 to level 7 as a mage requires another 20,000. The cost of dualing at level 6 rather than level 5 ends up being 30,000 XP, which takes a while to get in BG1 with a full party.
  • sarevok57sarevok57 Member Posts: 6,006
    edited September 2012
    i always dual her at level 6 if i dual her at all, because i give her 100% pick pocket, and 55% stealth at level 6, and if i do dual her i have safana on my team to be my lock pick/disarm trap thief, and even dualing her at level 6 i still get a level 9 mage before chapter 6 so i think she is worth bringing to level 6 first before dualling her, and i always dual her to an illusionist, 1 extra spell per level is very nice, and for any mage she has the best stats, dexterity and constitution
  • mlnevesemlnevese Member, Moderator Posts: 10,214
    I usually do it at level 7 for 100% lockpicks and find traps. Depending on the new cap I'll consider doing it at level 9, for extra hit points and backstab multiplier. Mainly if there is continuity of the NPCs between BG EE and BG 2 EE.
  • HaHaCharadeHaHaCharade Member Posts: 1,644
    edited September 2012
    I don't get why anyone would play a Mage/Thief unless you're just bored. A thief really pays off the most when combined with a fighter, and at least one mage in your group should be single-classed to get the most bang for your buck... Edwin + Monty for example... or Edwin + A Dual-Classed Shar-Teel (even better). I dunno man, I never got the love affair with Imoen. Plus her voice is so annoying... She sounds like a 35 year old chick talking like an 8 year old. Flame away, lol.
  • Awong124Awong124 Member Posts: 2,642
    I think it's a good idea to dual from a thief to anything else after a certain amount of levels because, other than HLAs, I find a high level thief to be pretty useless. The main reason to dual Imoen specifically to a mage is because that's the only class her ability scores allow. If you're talking about thieves with kits it's different, because their advantages help them remain useful at high levels.
  • DeathMachineMiyagiDeathMachineMiyagi Member Posts: 120
    As I recall, around level 8? It was just enough to squeak by on the xp cap.

    And yes, having a semi-useless character was a bit of pain. I tried to make up the difference by dropping all party members but her and myself and then killing basilisks or ankhegs or some other XP-laden prey that my main character could handle on his/her own.
  • DeathMachineMiyagiDeathMachineMiyagi Member Posts: 120
    HaHaCharade said:

    I dunno man, I never got the love affair with Imoen. Plus her voice is so annoying... She sounds like a 35 year old chick talking like an 8 year old. Flame away, lol.

    Before BG2 was released and I realized Imoen surviving to the second game would be canon, I confessed on the BG message boards that when I played an evil fighter I shot Imoen dead with a long bow the instant she started to approach me outside Candlekeep. I was fascinated by how vitriolic the reaction was.
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