Dual class fighter/cleric small party playthrough: getting through the fighter stage tips/help?

jtth

I'm finishing up my playthrough on my chaotic good Fighter-Mage multiclass with a nearly full party. It's been fun. I'm drawn towards a cleric now, and an evil one at that.

This is going to be a small party playthrough of 1-SoD-2, with 1-2 companions. I'm thinking about dual classing. Specifically at 9, from a berserker. This seems to be what a lot of folks like.

But I'm open to alternatives or ideas for getting XP in BG 1 quickly so I don't just play a fighter the entire time. I play with XP caps off, but I don't want to immediately trivialize content (should I install SCS then?).

Basically, I think what I'm asking is whether there is a way to avoid the tedium of playing the entirety of BG1 (at least before ToSC) as a fighter then dual classing. Ultimately it doesn't matter in the middle part of BG2 that I was a fighter at all, but the beginning is the tricky bit. Any tips would be informative. Or ideas about mods that address this in a gentle, non-super-OP way.

EDIT: I suppose another question is whether I should just play a pure-class cleric?

Lord_Tansheron

SCS cannot be recommended enough imo, I truly do consider it mandatory for the best combat experience - if combat is why you play the game, of course. Not everyone does.

If you want a more "complete" experience by not having periods of essentially single-class play, multiclass is probably the way to go. Dualing is tough to fit in perfectly into the entire saga without making sacrifices in certain parts.

Is there a specific reason you are interesting in dual-classing especially? By its very nature that system does not work too well with full playthroughs, and usually results in some oddness at one point or another. For example, you could totally dual a Berserker at, say, level 4, where you get your first use of Rage. That will leave you with a fair bit of dual time in BG1, but it will definitely be sub-optimal in BG2. You can extend that up and down as you choose, up to the extremes of dualing at lvl 2 (almost pure Cleric except you get Grand Mastery) or dualing at lvl 9 (the best point for BG2 duals and likely the theoretically best point overall in terms of cost/benefit).

What do you think? Do you mind having periods of being only one class? When would you least mind being in that spot? What about dual-class interests you in particular? Which part of the saga do you want to focus on most?

jtth

Thanks for the advice on SCS. If I can get it installed alongside this mod that'll let me dual-class a half-orc I'll be set.

I suppose BG2 is what I really want to focus on and where I'll be spending the most time. Dual-classing is what interests me because I don't see a lot of benefit right now having half of my XP going to my fighter side while other party members are already able to cast late game spells. Not that I need them; as a F-M I'm almost invincible. But I'd want that going to more and more spell slots for the cleric.

I think I'm still going to dual at 9 because that's where the sweet spot seems to be. I'll cope by having Viconia do the cleric things in BG1 and I have something of a story in mind for the character.

Pteran

SCS is compatible the the most recent patches. If you have trouble installing it, follow the advice given by @subtledoctor in this thread. It worked for me.

https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/49016/patch-2-0-and-tthe-scs-compability

FinneousPJ

@jtth You cannot complete a Ber 9 -> Cleric dual in BG1. Actually, you can't even reach Ber 9 in BG1. You can almost complete the dual in SoD, ending at Ber 9 -> Cleric 9, finally completing it in BG2.

JuliusBorisov

FinneousPJ said:

@jtth You cannot complete a Ber 9 -> Cleric dual in BG1. Actually, you can't even reach Ber 9 in BG1. You can almost complete the dual in SoD, ending at Ber 9 -> Cleric 9, finally completing it in BG2.

Right, but you can always install the XP cap remover and have a chance (especially with a small party). https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/10212/a-simple-xp-cap-remover-now-compatible-with-siege-of-dragonspear#latest

comebackhome

Just my opinion that multi classing is far better than dual classing everything eg having access to both classes HLA (high level abilities) if you're doing a BG to SoD run through with no intentions of bring your party over sure. But if you are and playing SoA then it's almost a waste not multi classing.

jtth

comebackhome said:

Just my opinion that multi classing is far better than dual classing everything eg having access to both classes HLA (high level abilities) if you're doing a BG to SoD run through with no intentions of bring your party over sure. But if you are and playing SoA then it's almost a waste not multi classing.

I'll play through BG to TOB. The issue is that I'm just tired of being behind as a multi right now with 5 people in my party. I'm still absurdly OP, so it doesn't matter, but I was hoping that I'd actually be able to cast level 9 spells (which I can't yet even in TOB) while Imoen can. And the pure/duals in my group are getting levels up far more often, which as a fighter/cleric I want spell slots because that's a lot of the fun!